Frederic Serre
The Advocate

The first case of raccoon rabies in Quebec in 10 years has been reported in the Eastern Townships’ municipality of Saint-Armand, located about a kilometre from the town of Highgate, Vermont, where last month authorities identified a similar case.

Quebec’s Ministère de l’Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs made the announcement on Jan. 13, advising the public that a raccoon infected with the rabies virus had been found dead in Saint-Armand on Dec. 17.

Quebec health officials are crediting the vigilance of local residents and the quick intervention by provincial wildlife specialists, who retrieved the dead animal for analysis.

“It should be noted that over the past year, several cases of raccoon rabies have been identified in northern Vermont,” a health ministry press release stated. “Tests conducted on the raccoon in January 2025 by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency laboratory confirmed that it indeed carried the raccoon variant.” 

Quebec government officials say they are keeping a close eye on the situation, while working closely with U.S. authorities to contain a widespread rabies outbreak.

Due to the presence of an outbreak of raccoon rabies in northern Vermont that has now spread to Quebec, the provincial Environment Ministry is asking residents of Saint-Armand and surrounding municipalities in the Haut-Richelieu and Brome-Missisquoi regions, particularly those in communities along the border, to actively participate in enhanced surveillance.

Residents or visitors of any of the following 17 municipalities are asked to be extra cautious and vigilant: Bedford, Dunham, Frelighsburg, Notre-Dame-de-Stanbridge, Pike River, Saint-Armand, Sainte-Sabine, Saint-Ignace-de-Stanbridge, Stanbridge East, Stanbridge Station, Clarenceville, Henryville, Noyan, Saint-Alexandre, Sainte-Anne-de-Sabrevois, Saint-Sébastien and Venise-en-Québec. 

Rabies is a contagious fatal disease that can infect all mammals, so it can be transmitted from an infected animal to a human. In addition to raccoon rabies, other variants of rabies are present in Quebec, including among bats and foxes.