The Quebec Ministry of the Environment‘s Fight Against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks is urging the Eastern Townships population, particularly border residents in the Municipal Regional Counties (MRC) of Brome-Missisquoi and Haute-Yamaska, to remain vigilant after a recent increase in the number of cases of raccoon rabies in Vermont near the Canada-U.S. border.
According to the press release from the Ministry, there have been more than 30 cases of raccoon rabies detected between Burlington and the Canada-U.S. border, along Lake Champlain, since March 2022.
Marianne Gagnier, biologist and coordinator of the Raccoon Rabies Surveillance and Control Operations for Quebec, told CIDI that the disease has recently moved further north, with the latest case detected 10 kilometres away from the border in March 2024. There has been no wildlife vaccination campaign in Quebec since 2020, she noted, creating an increased risk of raccoon rabies introduction.
