Skunk that bit people in West End tests positive for rabies; residents told to seek assessment
Vancouver Coastal Health confirmed rabies in a skunk active between Sept. 22 and Oct. 17 in the West End and Stanley Park. Anyone bitten or scratched should contact VCH immediately.
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A skunk that bit multiple people in Vancouver's West End between Sept. 22 and Oct. 17 has tested positive for rabies, Vancouver Coastal Health announced Wednesday.
A small number of people were bitten during the incident window. All affected individuals were assessed and received rabies vaccinations and immunoglobulin, according to the health authority.
Rabies is transmitted through bites or scratches from an infected animal — the virus lives in saliva. It is not transmitted through skunk spray, urine, or feces.
Residents who were bitten or scratched by a sick or abnormally behaving skunk in the West End or Stanley Park area during that period should contact Vancouver Coastal Health for assessment. People outside the region should contact their local health authority.
HighOnCity reported in August that a bat bite on a West Vancouver trail had prompted a rabies alert as summer incidents spiked, and in late September that B.C. rabies exposures had nearly doubled, with health officials urging caution around animals.
The facts
How is rabies transmitted?
Rabies is transmitted through bites or scratches from an infected animal, as the virus lives in saliva. It is not transmitted through skunk spray, urine, or feces.
What should people bitten or scratched by the skunk do?
Anyone bitten or scratched by a sick or abnormally behaving skunk in the West End or Stanley Park during the incident window should contact Vancouver Coastal Health for assessment. People outside the region should contact their local health authority.
