 Hi, my name is Dr. Tessa Baker and today on the UCBM One Health video series, Dr. Rebecca Archer and I will be talking about rabies risk and prevalence in Alberta. Why do we care about rabies? So we care about rabies because it's a disease not only of animals but also of people and whenever you have an act of rabies infection, the outcome is inevitably death with one very small exception, one person survived once in the history of ever. How would someone get rabies? Rabies is a virus and it's contracted through bites or scratches from an infected animal. Infected animals have to bring you into contact with their blood or saliva, keeping in mind that sometimes animals carrying rabies can be quite small and so the bites and scratches can also be quite small. So even if you don't think you've been bitten or scratched, if you think you've come into contact with a wild animal, you probably should consult with your medical professional. How would someone know if an animal is rabid though? Other than you're clearly rabid bunny. Rabid animals are typically acting abnormally so consider that any interaction between people in wildlife is an abnormal interaction for a wild animal. They usually avoid us so any interaction with wildlife should be treated as suspicious. Beyond abnormal behavior, we're also worried about increased levels of aggression. We're also can see aversion to water and the typical foaming at the mouth that you see in cartoons. But does rabies really matter in Alberta, isn't it? Really a disease of stray dogs in other countries. Although we're a fairly low risk, we do have a population of rabid animals in Alberta. We've had a little over 300 samples submitted so far this year and of those 300 we've had nine positives. Eight of them have been bats in Alberta but our most recent case was a cat. There are other rabid animal populations in other areas so if you do travel know that you may have to be worried about different animal populations. Consider that as well that that rabid cat was only discovered to be rabid after it bit its owner and the owner's son. Are these people going to be okay? These people are going to be okay because they sought medical attention immediately after contact with the rabid cat and they knew that that behavior was abnormal so they were treated before they were actually truly infected. If you want more information on that you can stay tuned for future videos and you can also take a look at some of the links in our handout. Do people really have to be worried about rabies in Alberta? Again, the general population risk is pretty low however there are populations that should be a little bit concerned populations like veterinarians, spelunkers, anybody who's regularly in contact with or potential contact with wild animals. They are at an increased risk and they probably should chat with their medical professional about being vaccinated against rabies. What about people's pets? We definitely recommend that all companion animals be vaccinated against rabies and the reason for this is not only their protection but also yours. So we want to make sure that whatever animal they come in contact with they're not going to get rabies. Maybe even if they're an indoor only animal, bats do sometimes get into people's houses but also if they come into contact with a rabid animal that they can't pass rabies on to you. Thanks for joining us today. Please check out our website for more information on this topic and stay tuned for more videos to come.