Dr. Bob Wright, Veterinary Scientist, Equine and Alternative Livestock Copyright October 1999. The wildlife vaccination program of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources has virtually eliminated rabies in foxes.
Skunks remain as a reservoir of the virus.
The newest threat comes from the occurrence of three cases of raccoon rabies in the Brockville area. An extensive control effort, by Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, has been launched to prevent the spread of raccoon rabies from what is thought to be a point source. Only one case of EIA was detected in Ontario in 1997 and 1998 and no cases of EIA have been detected in Ontario up until August, 1999. The main focus of infection in the past few years has been in Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia. Non Reportable Diseases in Ontario Epizootic lymphangitis of horses, horse pox, Japanese encephalitis of horses, and Venezuelan equine encephalitis have not been known to occur in Canada.