It’s not just the people of the Beaufort Delta who should be ensuring their vaccinated.
While the Beaufort Delta grapples with latest wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, another serious virus is showing up more frequently than usual. From November 2020 to March 2021 there were five foxes and one dog test positive for rabies. Since October of 2021, ENR has identified two foxes infected with rabies.
Reports of rabies in the Beaufort Delta, particularly near Tuktoyaktuk, have ENR chief veterinary officer Naima Jutha advising pet owners to get their best friends their rabies shots.
“Arctic foxes are endemic for rabies,” she said. “It’s a virus that’s maintained in their population. Occasionally we can have periodic epidemic events, where you’ll start to see more cases of rabies spilling over from Arctic foxes into dogs and also red foxes.
“I would say that this level of cases that we’re seeing is suggesting we’re having an outbreak period. Tuktoyaktuk is at higher risk right now, so we’re monitoring very closely.”
She noted the pattern follows a normal cycle of higher and level cases seen in a population known to carry rabies. However, for critters living around that population the risk of infection is greater during these periods.
If an animal is displaying the signs of rabies, that being foaming at the mouth and behaving aggressively or walking abnormally, but also any animal that is dead or appears diseased, residents are asked to contact their local Environment and Natural Resources officer or the Wildlife Emergency Line. Alternatively, they could contact the NWT Wildlife veterinarian office.
In the case of an unvaccinated dog, changes in behaviour, such as stopping eating or drinking water, to excessive drooling could also be a sign. Dogs could also appear sedated or aggressive, depending on how the virus affects them.
If a pet has been potentially exposed to rabies, the above three avenues are also the people to call — among other precautions, the pet will need to be quarantined. If a human has been exposed to rabies, they should contact their health care provider. As for foxes, if they’re not their usual skittish selves it could be a warning sign.
“When they’re hanging out and trying to be friends, I would be concerned,” said Jutha. “I wouldn’t take it as a compliment, I would make a call.”
Jutha said she’s been to Tuktoyaktuk twice this last year to administer vaccines and that she was confident a large portion of dogs in the community have been vaccinated.
With puppies being born and new dogs coming into the community, though, there’s always a need for more vaccinations.
In response, the GNWT is putting the call out for volunteers who are trained to administer the rabies and other vaccines to pets—one is already active in the Tuktoyaktuk area with vaccines in-hand and Jutha said there’s always room for more. Jutha added she has provided training to volunteers in Sachs Harbour and Paulatuk as well.
“Typically rabies vaccines, in Canada, have to be administered by a licenced veterinarian,” explained Jutha. “Of course in remote regions of the territory where access to veterinary services is not readily available, we have federal exemption which allows us to run the lay vaccinator program for rabies vaccines.”
Under the program, volunteers receive training to safely handle the rabies vaccine while administering it, which protects both the animal and the human. It also provides training in record keeping, bite prevention and properly restraining a pet to administer a shot.
Jutha said anyone interested in getting involved in the program should contact her office at wildlifeveterinarian@gov.nt.ca or contact their local hamlet or environmental health officer, who can pass their expression of interest on to her.
“Our goal is to have as many dogs vaccinated as possible,” she said. “But it is important that we continue that. So we are always happy to have more lay vaccinators. It is a skill that is able to be learned by just about anyone.”
Jutha recommends all pets in the Beaufort Delta, even strictly indoor ones, get vaccinated against rabies as a precaution. Anyone interested in getting their pet the shot can contact their Environmental Health Officer to get in touch with a vaccination program.