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Welcome to the Rabies Research and
Development Unit Website

The purpose of the site is to provide information on MNR's efforts to control and eradicate rabies from Ontario. The site includes background information on the disease, several fact sheets and links to other rabies related websites, such as your regional health unit .

Collage of rabies images.

What's New

To protect the people of Ontario against rabies, the province has started planning its annual wildlife rabies control operations for 2005  .

The Ministry of Natural Resources is committed to the research, control and eradication of rabies in Ontario, thereby protecting the health and safety of the public, their pets and the wildlife of this province. Ontario's programs are so successful that broad areas of southern Ontario are free of fox and raccoon rabies.

If a person is exposed to rabies and does not receive treatment before they show symptoms, the disease is fatal.

The province uses a number of control measures in the fight against the deadly rabies virus:

  • control measures at the point of infection (starting in early spring),
  • trap-vaccinate-release programs (starting in early summer); and
  • widespread aerial vaccine baiting (starting in late summer)

Cases of fox-strain rabies have dropped dramatically across Ontario to only 54 cases in 2004, down from 1,500 before control measures were implemented in 1989, a 97 per cent drop. There were only 4 confirmed raccoon rabies cases in 2004, less than last year and down from 45 cases in 2001.

In jurisdictions such as neighbouring New York State, which did not have proactive, multi-partner programs, the number of raccoon rabies cases had climbed to more than 5500 in the initial five-year period. Ontario's MNR-led program is so effective that, in the first five years, only 131 (as of January 27, 2005) cases of raccoon rabies have been confirmed.

Much of Ontario's success in controlling the spread of raccoon rabies is attributable to the introduction of a high-risk area in eastern Ontario. Efforts will continue in that area, since several cases of raccoon rabies were confirmed within 10 km of the City of Ottawa boundary in 2000, and several raccoon rabies cases last year were near to the city's boundary. As such, the boundaries for the raccoon rabies high-risk area remained  the same for 2004.

In the high-risk area it is illegal to relocate raccoons, foxes and skunks. As well, raccoons, foxes and skunks that are captured in the high-risk area must be released immediately at the point of capture, or humanely euthanized as soon as possible and within 24 hours. Please view this map to see if you are in the Raccoon Rabies High-Risk Area or contact your MNR District Office for further information.

The rabies control program is a joint effort that receives important input from a variety of partners across Ontario. Regional health units, municipalities, wildlife rehabilitators, licensed trappers, wildlife control agents and aboriginal communities are all key to the continued success of Ontario's world-renowned rabies control program.

Click on the following links for some helpful information on rabies in your area:
Rabies Vaccine Bait Information Sheet
Map of the Raccoon Rabies High Risk Area (Text Version).
Map of Rabies Control Operations for 2004  ( Text Version ).
Fact Sheet: The Facts About Raccoon Rabies
Fact Sheet: Protecting your Family and Your Pets

 
 
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