The changing face of rabies in Canada.

Abstract

Rabies prevention and control programs in Canada have proven highly successful in past decades and have significantly reduced both terrestrial animal and human rabies cases. Successful management and prevention of rabies to date have not, however, eliminated our need for ongoing rabies prevention and control programs. This issue of the Canadian Communicable Disease Report (CCDR) provides an overview of recent and emerging rabies trends and challenges in Canada and examines the rationale to maintain our rabies programs and further supplement them with new and innovative approaches. The articles in this issue cover a broad range of topics including the preparation for, and response to, renewed incursions of the raccoon rabies variant of the virus, how to address the problem posed by the movement of dogs from northern to southern Canada and how the Canadian Rabies Management Plan is being revised and updated to respond to these issues. Rabies in Canada is changing, but it is not disappearing. The same needs to be said of our rabies prevention and control policies and programs.