No further cases of skunks with rabies in downtown Vancouver have been discovered, according to Vancouver Coastal Health. On Oct. 21 the health authority put out a warning that a skunk had tested positive for rabies in the area. Anyone who had direct contact with a skunk between Sept. 22 and Oct. 17 was encouraged to contact the health authority for assessment immediately. After a human or pet is exposed to the rabies virus through a bite or a scratch from an infected animal, there is a period of time when they can be given post-exposure rabies vaccine and immunoglobulin to prevent them from getting sick. The rabies vaccine is injected into the arm, just like the flu shot, while the immunoglobulin is injected near the bite or scratch site. It is also recommended to wash a bite or scratch thoroughly, with soap and water, for at least 15 minutes directly after a potential exposure. People and pets that do not receive treatment may develop symptoms within three to eight weeks after exposure and will usually die within 10 days of developing symptoms. Rabies is almost always fatal. “A small number” of people reported being exposed to the skunk and were given appropriate follow-up care, Vancouver Coastal Health said in an email, declining to give a specific number to protect patient confidentiality. Several skunks in the downtown area were euthanized so they could be tested for rabies, but the tests were all negative, Erin Fraser, public health veterinarian at the BC Centre for Disease Control, or BCCDC, told The Tyee. It is relatively rare for skunks in B.C. to contract rabies. There was a case in 2004, another in 2021 and two cases this year: one in Vancouver and one in the Interior, Fraser said. Human cases are even rarer, with one death in 2003 and one in 2019. In 2025, 931 people were given preventive treatment in B.C. after a potential rabies exposure, which jumped to 1,598 people in 2026, according to the BCCDC. The agency previously told The Tyee that this jump is likely due to increased public awareness about the risk of rabies, and not an actual increase in the risk of rabies. The vast majority of rabies cases are in bats. From 2000 to 2025, 183 of the 188 confirmed rabies cases in B.C. were in bats, according to the BCCDC’s 2026 rabies surveillance report. About one in 200 bats carries rabies in B.C. Bats are known as the province’s only reservoir species. Across North America variants of the rabies virus have adapted so that specific animals live longer when infected instead of following a normal infection trajectory, which kills an animal roughly within 10 days of developing symptoms, Fraser said. The Public Health Agency of Canada says bat, skunk, fox and racoon rabies variants are found across the country. B.C. has only the bat variant. Manitoba has the bat, skunk and fox variants. Nunavut has only the fox variant. This is why bats are known as a reservoir species for rabies in B.C., because they can live with the virus for a short while, although many likely still succumb to it and eventually die, Fraser said. Some survive and carry antibodies to the virus, Fraser said. B.C. is home to 15 bat species, and it’s not clear if some make for better reservoir species than others, she said. With so many bat species in B.C., it’s hard to generalize how the rabies virus affects bats in the province, she added. While one in 200 bats is estimated to carry rabies in B.C., it’s likely a lower percentage that carry the specific bat variant, she added. When a specific variant of the rabies virus is transmitted to a different species, the infection follows its normal trajectory and kills the animal shortly after it develops symptoms. The rabid skunk in Vancouver was infected with the bat variant of rabies, Fraser said. It is possible that the racoon or skunk rabies virus variant could come to B.C. and start infecting local animals, but this doesn’t seem to have happened, Fraser said, adding that it’s not clear why. While it’s possible the rabies variant works only with the genetics of animals from a specific area, for example the skunk population in southern Manitoba, she said, it’s far from certain. There is no concern that the bat rabies virus variant could adapt and begin spreading through the local skunk population, she added. While talking about the risk of rabies, Fraser also emphasized the benefits of bats. “Bats have so many positive roles in the environment and in biodiversity,” she said. “They share nutrients. They’re involved in pollination and pest control.” Humans reside side by side with bats, which live everywhere in B.C. including in urban centres, but rarely notice them because they fly at night and navigate with ultrasonic bio-sonar at frequencies higher than humans can hear. A healthy bat will almost always avoid humans. If a bat interacts with a human and touches them, it’s a good idea for the person to get assessed by a doctor because there is a risk the bat was unhealthy. No rabid cats or dogs have ever been identified in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, the health authority said. Regardless, veterinarians recommend that all pets get regularly vaccinated against rabies to keep them safe if they ever bring a bat home in their mouth, or if a bat gets into the house. Regular rabies vaccinations are not recommended for people — unless, like bat researchers, spelunkers and veterinarians, they have an ongoing risk of coming into contact with infected animals. The rabies virus can incubate for up to six months before symptoms appear, but the average is closer to 12 weeks, Fraser said. The risk of rabies exposure in B.C. remains very low, Vancouver Coastal Health added. Michelle Gamage, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Tyee
