Second Skunk Tests Positive for Rabies

June 10, 2004 (No. 40) - Laboratory testing has confirmed a second dead skunk captured in Stanley Park carried the rabies virus. The animal was found near Lost Lagoon, where Vancouver Park Board officials found the first skunk that tested positive for rabies in May.

"The second animal appears to be the same age as the first skunk, leading us to believe it could be from the same family", according to Dr. Patricia Daly, Director of Communicable Disease Control for the Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH). "It does not appear either animal bit any people or pets." These are the first recorded rabies cases in skunks in British Columbia, where rabies is usually only associated with bats.

Mammals infected with bat-variant rabies don't usually transmit the virus to other animals, but small outbreaks of bat-variant rabies among skunks and other mammals have been reported elsewhere in North America. The Vancouver Park Board wil continue to submit dead skunks for rabies testing in order that the possibility of such an outbreak can be ruled out, locally.

"At this time we are also asking anyone bitten by a bat, skunk or raccoon in Stanley Park, since April 2004, to contact their public health unit, as they may require rabies vaccination," said Daly. "No raccoons with rabies have been found in the Park, but are included in the advisory as a precaution." Vaccination given soon after a bite but before symptoms surface can prevent illness and death. Public health units are listed in the blue pages of the phone book.

Rabies is a disease caused by a virus that affects the nervous system. It is spread through infected body fluids, usually saliva in a bite from an infected animal. Symptoms include headache, fever, difficulty swallowing, drooling, muscle spasm or weakness and strange behaviour. Once symptoms start, rabies kills almost all of its victims.

Pet owners are advised to keep their dogs on-leash at all times in the Park, and ensure their pets receive rabies vaccination on an annual basis. Feeding wildlife is prohibited throughout the City of Vancouver, and regular park users are reminded to avoid all contact with skunks, raccoons, squirrels and birds. If you spot a dead or sick animal in the Park, or anything else out of the ordinary, please contact Stanley Park Wildlife Services 604-257-8491. Elsewhere in the City of Vancouver contact VCH Environmental Health Unit at 605-736-2866.

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Contacts:
Terri Clark, Park Board Communication Coordinator, at 604-257-8438
Viviana Zanocco, Vancouver Coastal Health Media Relations Officer, at 604-708-5282

The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation maintains 200 parks and 40 major facilities throughout the City of Vancouver. The Park Board's mission is to provide, preserve and advocate for parks and recreation services to benefit people, communities and the environment.

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