Rabies is a very serious disease.  We’re very lucky in Canada that in most parts of the country the prevalence of this disease is now quite low, in large part due to wildlife control and vaccination efforts.  Unfortunately that also seems to make some people quite lax when it comes to (common sense) things like

I guess it’s not surprising but it’s sad when people are skirting the pathetically lax canine import regulations and falsifying rabies vaccination status. In the US, the CDC has issued a Health Alert because of an increasing number of dogs that are being imported with "questionable" documentation of rabies vaccination.

These dogs are destined for

Not many days go by when I don’t get a few calls about rabies. Here are a couple from yesterday that highlight some important issues.

An indoor cat tangled with a bat. The bat’s no longer around to test so this is considered a potential rabies exposure (bats being important rabies vectors, and catching and

No, not what I write (although I certainly get enough emails suggesting otherwise… and I’m sure another round of interesting emails is going to be coming at my way shortly).

In the past, and even sometimes still today, public health has had to deal with the phenomenon of having "chickenpox parties." These are events held

A single rabid animal has lead to plans to euthanize 40 dogs at a Texas animal shelter. It’s very similar to a situation I discussed with vet students recently, and it’s one that raises a lot of emotions.

The brief version…one rabid dog was identified in the shelter.

  • This means that consideration has to be