A free-roaming kitten that sparked public health warnings in Chemainus last month did not have rabies, Island Health and the BC Centre for Disease Control confirmed.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s rabies laboratory reported on Aug. 22 that extensive testing found the kitten negative for rabies, calling the July result a rare ‘false positive’.
The kitten was found near the 8000 block of Chemainus Road in early July and initially tested positive for the virus, prompting Island Health to issue an advisory and identify anyone who may have been exposed.
“In B.C., the only animals that carry rabies virus are bats,” the BC Centre for Disease Control said in a statement. “There is very rarely spread of rabies to other animals in B.C. The risk of rabies to humans in B.C. is mainly from bats.”
Health officials say the incident underscores the importance of rabies vaccination for pets, even though rabies transmission among domestic animals in B.C. is extremely rare.
Since 1924, there have been only two reported human rabies cases in the province, both linked to bat exposures. The last confirmed case of a domestic cat with rabies in B.C. occurred in 2007.
Rabies is a preventable but serious disease. Anyone who may have been exposed to a rabid animal should seek prompt medical attention.
More information on rabies in B.C. is available at bccdc.ca.
