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. 1988 Apr;29(4):362–365.

Rabies in Canada — History, Epidemiology and Control

Richard C Rosatte
PMCID: PMC1680921  PMID: 17423026

Abstract

Rabies first became evident in Canada during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. However, only a few sporadic outbreaks, mainly in domestic animals, were noted before 1945.

Rabies in foxes spread into the Canadian provinces from the Arctic regions during the late 1940s. The disease gradually died out in most areas except Ontario. A second major outbreak, involving skunks, progressed from North Dakota into the Prairie provinces during the late 1950s and 1960s. Today, the major problem areas in Canada with respect to rabies are southern Ontario, which accounts for 85% of the Canadian diagnoses, and the Prairie provinces where rabies is enzootic in skunks.

Rabies is rare in humans in Canada; however more than 40,000 cases have been reported in wild and domestic animals since 1958. Control of rabies is currently being undertaken through vaccination of domestic animals and wildlife, population reduction of wildlife vectors, and human preexposure rabies vaccination.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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