Rabies through a One Health lens

Rabies is a serious and often fatal viral zoonotic disease that affects mammals, including humans. Historically, animal and public health agencies have shared responsibility for rabies prevention and management at provincial and territorial levels. However, factors like climate change, expanding animal ranges, and animal importations are altering disease dynamics, requiring approaches and partnerships to evolve. Applying a One Health lens to managing rabies could foster collaboration across sectors and jurisdictional boundaries. This blog outlines rabies occurrence in Canada and underscores the importance of a One Health approach in rabies prevention and control.

Rabies occurrence in Canada: Animals

Rabies is not a new disease and has been detected in animals across Canada going back centuries. It is a reportable disease in animals under the Health of Animals Act, and between 2011 and 2024, an average of 150 positive animal cases were reported annually. Most detections are in the key wildlife reservoirs for rabies, bats, skunks, raccoons, and foxes, but other animals from livestock to domestic cats and dogs are also affected. Surveillance activities vary across Canada, from active to passive programs, and many cases in wildlife likely go undetected. Various strains of the virus are associated with different animal species, and the prevalence of strains varies geographically (e.g., raccoons in eastern Canada; skunks in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, Arctic foxes in the north). All strains can be transmitted to other mammals, including humans.

Rabies occurrence in Canada: Humans

Rabies is a nationally notifiable disease in humans in Canada. Human infections can occur through exposure to the saliva of infected animals – typically via bites or scratches. Rabies affects the central nervous system and is almost always fatal once clinical symptoms appear. Rabies cases in humans are rare in Canada, with 28 deaths from rabies reported since 1924, mostly linked to bat exposures. In 2024, a child tragically died from rabies after a bat encounter in the home – marking the first domestically acquired case in Ontario since 1967.

In February 2025, a Hamilton, Ontario resident was receiving treatment following exposure to a bat that tested positive. For people who have been exposed, post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is almost always 100% effective if administered promptly after exposure. Certain groups may be at higher risk of exposure to rabies and may benefit from pre-exposure vaccination. This includes animal workers or laboratory staff handling the rabies virus, travellers to areas where rabies is widespread, hunters and trappers in areas with confirmed rabies, and people who participate in activities such as spelunking (cave exploration).

Are rabies encounters in Canada changing?

Bat encounters are the main cause of human rabies cases in Canada, and encounters with other infected animals are rare. However, the landscape for encountering infected animals could be shifting. Renewed incursions of rabies in raccoons in eastern provinces of Canada, and the translocation of dogs from northern regions into southern urban communities increases the potential for human encounters. The increased importation of dogs from other countries has also raised concerns. Globally, dogs account for 99% of human rabies cases. This has prompted Canada to ban dogs from countries deemed high risk for rabies transmission and to control animal importation from other countries.

Climate change may be altering animal habitats and patterns of movement, as well as rabies transmission patterns in Northern Canada. Warming temperatures could expand wildlife ranges and increase populations of reservoir animals such as Arctic foxes near inhabited areas. Warming could also have unexpected effects, such as diminishing sea ice potentially reducing Arctic fox movement, and reducing rabies transmission rates. In some areas, loss of sea ice could instead landlock Arctic foxes, potentially increasing dog and human encounters with infected foxes. 

How can a One Health approach be applied to rabies management?

Changing disease dynamics demands more integrated strategies for rabies management.  A One Health approach combining human, animal, and environmental considerations, and driving coordination and collaboration offers a multi-pronged solution to reduce rabies risk in Canada. It requires involvement of groups such as veterinarians, medical and public health professionals, policymakers, and communities. Rabies does not follow jurisdictional boundaries, so strategies must bridge gaps in knowledge sharing and collaboration across federal, provincial, and territorial, and Indigenous partners. Key One Health strategies may include:

1. Continuation and expansion of mass vaccination program for animals, especially in remote and northern communities where possible.
   Rabies is vaccine-preventable in healthy animals. Stopping rabies transmission at the source, namely via wildlife and domestic animal interactions, reduces potential for human exposure.  While mass vaccination programs for dogs are highly effective, remote and northern communities often face barriers to accessing veterinary care, which can hinder these efforts. Organizations such as Veterinarians Without Borders, through the Northern Animal Health Initiative, work to provide rabies vaccinations, veterinary support, and volunteer training in underserved regions of Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
   
   Wildlife vaccination programs, especially for urban wildlife, can be effective, but are not practical in all situations. For example, snow coverage and expansive geography in the north makes such programs challenging for animals such as Arctic foxes, so other strategies may be needed.
    
2. Ensuring adequate supply of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP)
   Prompt access to PEP (wound care, human rabies immune globulin, and a four-dose series of vaccines) is essential for managing human rabies exposure. When administered in time, PEP is 100% effective in preventing rabies onset. However, vaccine shortages, as seen in Ontario in 2025, can disrupt treatment availability, leading to rationing and delayed care. Ensuring a consistent and equitable supply of PEP across Canada is crucial to rabies management.
    
3. Public awareness and engagement
   Education is a cornerstone of rabies prevention. Public awareness campaigns and school-based programs can help educate communities about rabies risk, encourage responsible pet ownership, promote timely vaccinations of animals, and reinforce safe animal handling practices. School-based programs are particularly effective, as students can share their knowledge with families and the broader community, reinforcing public awareness. Events such as World Rabies Day on September 28^th also help to facilitate public awareness.
    
4. Surveillance and wildlife management
   Ongoing surveillance and wildlife management are essential for monitoring rabies prevalence, preventing outbreaks, and protecting both humans and domestic animals.  Targeted control measures, such as those implemented in Québec, have demonstrated success in managing rabies transmission.  Surveillance programs can also help track disease trends and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions.  

Looking ahead

A successful One Health approach to rabies management depends on sustained collaboration across human, animal, and environmental sectors and improved connections between counterparts across jurisdictional boundaries. While rabies is not a new disease, addressing it within the context of climate change and increasing human-animal interactions requires an ongoing commitment from individuals, organizations, and policymakers. In 2023, Bill C-349 was introduced in parliament to establish a national rabies awareness day and develop a national strategy for rabies prevention and control; however, it has yet to be passed into law. 

As Canada moves forward in its efforts to control rabies, a One Health approach will remain crucial in mitigating risks and protecting public health.  By strengthening vaccination programs, ensuring PEP availability and access, enhancing education, and improving wildlife surveillance, Canada can continue to safeguard communities from this fatal but preventable disease. 

For more information on rabies in Canada and a One Health approach to rabies prevention and control, see:

Rabies in Canada

• Rabies monitoring in Canada (Public Health Agency of Canada)
• Rabies: For health professionals (Public Health Agency of Canada)
• Rabies cases in Canada (Canadian Food Inspection Agency)
• Rabies fact sheet (Canadian Food Inspection Agency)
• General rabies information, including technical reports and best practices (Public Health Ontario)

One Health approaches to rabies control

• Rabies control: a model for One Health collaboration (World Organisation for Animal Health)
• One Health approach to rabies (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations)
• Course: Rabies & One Health: From basics to cross-sectoral action to stop human rabies deaths (World Health Organization)