An epidemic of raccoon of the raccoon spreads in Estrie and Montérégie, for the second time since the virus arrived in the province in 2006, and the authorities call for vigilance in the face of this fatal disease for humans.
What to know
- Thirty-two cases of ranting of the raccoon have been listed since December in the Lac Champlain valley
- Quebec has prohibited the transport of wild animals in a hundred municipalities in the region and launched vaccination campaigns
- Rage is fatal for humans in 100 % of cases as soon as the symptoms manifest themselves
The epidemic home is located in the Valley of Lake Champlain, between the municipalities of Venice-en-Québec, Frelighsburg and Farnham, where 32 cases have been listed since December.
“It is not anecdotal,” warns biologist Marianne Gagnier, provincial coordinator for monitoring and controlling the Rage at the Ministry of the Environment, the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks.
“We can expect to have other cases this year,” she says.
The epidemic could be of the same magnitude as that which the same region had known between 2006 and 2009, when the virus appeared in Quebec for the first time.
The epidemic had started by only four cases in the first year, but had reached a total of 104 cases in almost four years.
“It’s hard to predict what will happen,” explains Mr.me Gagnier, because the density of the populations of rastons was not necessarily the same and the displacement of animals by humans can greatly accelerate the spread of the virus.
Quebec also prohibited the transport of raccoons on Wednesday, striped skuffs, gray foxes, red foxes and coyotes, as well as their hybrids, in a hundred municipalities1 from Estrie and Montérégie, until August 17th.
A case of rage with a fox was also listed earlier in June in eastern Ontario, near Hawkesbury, but it had been infected with the Rage of the Bat Rage, and not the rage of the raccoon.
Mortal virus for humans
Rage is fatal for humans in 100 % of cases as soon as the symptoms appear, which explains the importance of the measures put in place by the authorities.
“We do these interventions for the protection of human health first and above all,” says Marianne Gagnier.
You should not approach a wild animal, even if it looks healthy, since the virus can take weeks, even months, to manifest itself after infection.
It is not time to help rastons babies that we believe orphans.
Marianne Gagnier, provincial coordinator of monitoring and control of rabies at the Ministry of the Environment
Mme Gagnier also invites agricultural producers in the region to consult their veterinarian to take prevention measures appropriate for their farms.
Anyone who has been bitten or scratched by a suspicious animal or having been in contact with their saliva must clean the wound with water and soap for 10 to 15 minutes, then communicate with the info-health service, by composing 811, to obtain post-exhibition treatment.
A child died in September in northern Ontario after having been in contact with an infected bat, his parents did not have him treated in the absence of an apparent bite.
Vaccination campaign
Faced with the increase in rage from raccoon at Vermont, Quebec launched in the spring of 2024 the first in a series of vaccination campaigns2 By having tens of thousands of vaccine baits in Estrie and Montérégie.
A fourth was held in April this year, and a fifth is scheduled for the end of the summer; It is not excluded that a sixth is held in the fall.
Spring vaccinations target adults, while summer vaccinations aim in particular to immunize young people who, in the spring, were breastfed and did not eat bait, explains Mme Gagnier.
75 000
Number of bait containing the rage vaccine of the raccoon which were spread over a territory of 1,100 km² in Estrie and in assembly, this spring
Source: Ministry of the Environment, the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks
Fall vaccinations are important because it is during this period that young males separate from their mother and migrate to other territories, which makes this season conducive to the propagation of the virus in new sectors.
The hatching of the current epidemic does not mean that the vaccination campaigns have failed, indicates Marianne Gagnier, who underlines that it will take a few years to eliminate rage.
Photo Martin Chamberland, La Presse Archives
Vaccinal baits had been spread in the forest to combat the rage of the raccoon in April 2024.
“We know very well that when we spread vaccine baits, we are not able to vaccinate all the animals present in a territory,” she says.
“What we want to do by our operations is to put the cover a little on the pot. Strolling propagation to other territories and limit the number of cases, ”says Marianne Gagnier.
Quebec also calls on the population to report any animal with symptoms of rabies, which is abnormally aggressive, suffering from paralysis, disoriented or convulsions.
To report a suspect animal, visit the website: Quebec. CA/RAGEDURATONLAVER or compose 1 877 346-6763.
1. Consult the list of municipalities referred to in the ban
2. Read the article The press : “Operation raccoon”
A virus from Florida
The first cases of rage in raccoon were observed in the 1950s, in Florida, the result of an adaptation of a virus originally affecting bats. Then, the virus appeared in Virginia, at the end of the 1970s, possibly because humans had moved ratons who were in times of incubation of the virus. The rage of the raccoon then spread in the States of New England, to reach Vermont in 1993, then Quebec in 2006.
