Dr. Kieran Moore - Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health - (Acadia Broadcasting/File Photo)
A case of rabies has been confirmed in the province for the first time since 1967.
Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health made the announcement on Friday.
“Brant County Health Unit has received laboratory confirmation of a human case of rabies in a resident of Brantford-Brant,” said Dr. Kieran Moore. “The illness is suspected to have been acquired from direct contact with a bat in Ontario. To ensure privacy for the family, no further information about the individual will be released.”
As a precaution, family members, health care providers and other close contacts are being assessed and offered post-exposure prophylaxis, as needed.
Rabies is a viral infection that causes brain and spinal cord inflammation.
It is typically spread to humans through direct contact with the saliva of an infected animal, such as through a bite or scratch.
Immediate medical care following suspected rabies exposures is crucial to combat the disease.
Post-exposure medical care includes washing the area with soap and water as soon as possible, a dose of rabies immune globulin and a series of rabies vaccines which must be administered as soon as possible after exposure.
“This treatment is nearly 100 per cent effective when administered promptly,” said Moore.
Canada has only recorded 26 other known cases of rabies in humans since reporting began in 1924.
