Rabies control program expands to western New Brunswick

The New Brunswick government will be expanding its its rabies control measures to western New Brunswick over the next several months.

The oral rabies vaccine bait will be distributed in parts of York and Carleton counties.

Government officials say there have not been any reported cases of rabies in Carleton County, but this year there was a rabid raccoon in York County. Since 2014, there have been 27 of rabies cases in New Brunswick.

READ MORE:  Bait containing rabies vaccine to be dropped in rural areas of Charlotte County, N.B.

New Brunswick Chief Provincial Veterinarian Dr. Jim Goltz says the areas they have executed the program in has been successful so far.

“We know that they work and that animals eat them. So now our main way to prove that they work is by looking at how rabies has diminished in an area where it formerly occurred,” Goltz said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We know that they work and that animals eat them. So now our main way to prove that they work is by looking at how rabies has diminished in an area where it formerly occurred," Goltz said.

“What we hope to accomplish through that is to vaccinate wild animals — skunks and raccoons against rabies so that they’ll be protected.  Rabies is spreading into New Brunswick it seems to be coming across from the Maine side of our province and it’s spreading into wild raccoons and skunks in that area, and what we want to do is eventually eliminate it from the province and this is the best way to do it, by protecting the animals with vaccines,” Goltz said.

Dr. Goltz says every year 60 to 90,000 people in the world die from rabies.  He says that fortunately in North America, that number is low because of control programs like this one.

While the vaccines will help diminish rabies in New Brunwick, Goltz says there are still things people can do to protect themselves and their pets again the fatal disease.

“If you see an animal, just try not to get close to wild animals … Just enjoy them. Use your telephoto-lens to take a picture, use your binoculars, stay in your car, whatever … and enjoy,” Goltz said.

Other things people can do to protect themselves are avoiding relocating animals, keeping garbage bins secure, and teaching children to respect wild animals.

Douglas Animal Hospital veterinarian Dr. Jim Berry says it’s also important to protect pets against rabies by ensure their vaccines are up-to-date.

“It’s extremely accessible. All veterinarians do rabies shots. It’s incredibly effective, and very safe vaccinations — there are no health concerns to the vaccines,” Berry said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's extremely accessible. All veterinarians do rabies shots. It's incredibly effective, and very safe vaccinations — there are no health concerns to the vaccines," Berry said.

Berry says vaccines are cost effective and don’t need to be done very often.