Rabid skunk bites people in downtown Vancouver, health officials say
Vancouver Coastal Health says a small number of people bitten by the animal have received preventive treatment.
VANCOUVER — A skunk that bit several people in downtown Vancouver has tested positive for rabies, Vancouver Coastal Health confirmed Wednesday.
The health authority said a small number of people bitten by the animal have been assessed and received rabies vaccinations and immunoglobulin to prevent infection.
Anyone who had contact with a sick or abnormally behaving skunk in the area between Sept. 22 and Oct. 17 is being asked to seek treatment.
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"I just started talking to the skunk because I'm an animal person. I like to do that," said West End resident Guerric Haché. "I was saying, 'Hi, buddy, how you doing?' And the skunk looked up at me, and turned toward me, and it walked on to the sidewalk and it bit my leg and then it bit my shoe."
Haché told CBC News he captured the skunk last Saturday near the corner of Comox and Bute streets after it appeared lethargic and confused.
He called an animal rescue charity to take the animal away and later learned it had to be killed due to a broken jaw. Vancouver Coastal Health subsequently confirmed it had rabies.
"There's only been three reported cases of rabies in skunks [in B.C.] since 2011, including this one. So it's extremely rare in B.C.," Haché said.
The area covered by the advisory includes Stanley Park and a portion of downtown Vancouver and the West End, bordered by Georgia and Burrard streets.
Vancouver Coastal Health said rabies virus is found in the saliva of infected animals and is usually transmitted through a bite, though it is less commonly transmitted through scratches.
"Rabies virus is not transmitted through exposure to the spray, urine or feces of infected skunks," the health authority's advisory reads.
It adds that bats are the only known reservoirs of rabies in B.C., but occasional spillovers to other animal species, including skunks, have occurred.
Rabies is a fatal viral infection that affects the brain and nervous system.
The risks were highlighted earlier this year in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, which published a report about an 11-year-old Ontario child who died of rabies in 2024.
Dr. Brian Hummel, a pediatric infectious disease specialist and the report’s senior author, told The Canadian Press in June that human rabies infections are extremely rare in Canada, with 28 cases reported since 1924.
The last reported rabies death before the child’s case was a man who died in 2019 after exposure to a bat in British Columbia.
There is no treatment or cure once rabies symptoms begin, although the virus typically has an incubation period of several weeks before symptoms appear.
Anyone who may have been bitten or scratched by a sick skunk in the highlighted area is urged to contact Vancouver Coastal Health at 604-675-3900 for an assessment.
Pet owners whose animal had direct contact with a skunk during the four-week period should contact their veterinarian immediately, according to the health authority.
Vancouver Coastal Health advises that if you are bitten or scratched by a wild animal, wash the wound with soap and warm water for at least 15 minutes and seek medical care immediately.
With files from The Canadian Press, CBC News and RED FM Canada