Island Health is informing the public that a free-roaming kitten in a rural area of Chemainus recently tested positive for rabies. The likelihood that people not already identified came into contact with this animal is very low, but out of an abundance of caution we are notifying the community.
The kitten was found on the roadside in the 8000 block of Chemainus Road on July 9, 2025, and began exhibiting symptoms consistent with rabies infection on July 12. Test results received on July 21 confirmed the kitten was infected with rabies.
All individuals at risk of exposure after July 9 have been identified by Public Health and are receiving appropriate follow-up care. However, the kitten could have transmitted the infection if it bit or scratched someone after July 2.
While the risk to the public is extremely low, Island Health is asking anyone who had direct contact with a kitten specifically in the area noted between July 2, 2025, and July 9 to contact the Communicable Disease Program at 250-519-3575 for assessment. It is believed the kitten was living in a tree on or near a rural property in the 8000 block of Chemainus Road.
If you did not have contact with a kitten in the area noted between July 2 and July 9, 2025, you are not at risk and do not need to contact Communicable Disease for further support. Do not attend an emergency department unless you are experiencing an emergency requiring immediate medical attention.
While further test results are pending, it is expected the kitten was infected by a bat which is consistent with the source of nearly all rabies cases in B.C. in the last 25 years. In B.C., the only animals that carry rabies are bats and very rarely bat variant rabies transmit to other animals or humans. The risk of rabies to humans is from bats and this isolated case does not change the risk in B.C.
Rabies is a serious but preventable disease and early intervention is key. Keeping pets up to date with rabies vaccination is important both to prevent infection with rabies and to improve assessment of pets that demonstrate behaviours that could be compatible with rabies. More information can be found here.