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Iglulik on rabies-watch Jeanne Gagnon Northern News Services Published Monday, January 9, 2012
Celestino Uyarak, the hamlet's assistant senior administrative officer, said rabies was first suspected after a fox was trying to attack a huge dog in mid-December. He added the fox was caught, tested positive for rabies and was destroyed. A couple of leashed sled dogs also had to be put down after it was suspected they had rabies, said Uyarak. The dogs' owner had reported one animal was trying to chew off its own tongue. "It's been a while since we have seen rabid foxes around," he said, explaining a while means more than two years but less than 10. "For us, it's a big concern. It's a health concern." Two residents bitten by a fox on Dec. 27 were treated for exposure to rabies at the Iglulik health centre, confirmed Ron Wassink, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Services. He could not say, due to privacy legislation, whether the residents actually received the rabies shots. Some 350 rabies vaccines were ordered through the department, as the community plans to vaccinate dogs this month, said Brian Fleming, Iglulik's senior administrative officer. He was unsure when the vaccination would start as the doses have yet to arrive in the community. Rabies is a viral disease that can cause inflammation of the brain in warm-blooded animals, and, if the disease reaches the central nervous system, it is fatal. Fox sightings are declining daily compared to December, Fleming said. Meanwhile, many residents are walking around with hockey sticks to fend off animals. "If somebody comes to Iglulik, never been here before, they'd say 'boy, everyone just loves hockey. Everyone has a hockey stick.' Doesn't matter whether you're five years old or 75, everyone has a hockey stick," he said. Christopher Piugattuk, a bylaw officer and dog catcher in Iglulik, said there were too many lemmings in the community this past fall and suspected the high number could lead to rabies - he and the community's elders suspect the animals carry diseases. He confirmed a rabid fox was caught on Dec. 11 and two dogs also tested positive for the disease. All three animals were put down and incinerated. "We're not that worried because we got it before. Everybody is OK," he said. "We've been trying to see the most of the dogs by Ski-Doo, looking at them, how they react. Right now, I could see (it) looks like the dogs are OK." Almost 70 km south, Hall Beach is monitoring its own rabies situation and checking foxes, said senior administrative officer John Ivey. He added they are warning residents to keep their dogs tied up. "We're very concerned," he said. "We are warning people now if their dogs are loose, the dogs will be destroyed because we have fox running around here too. We don't know if we have rabies here but it's dangerous."
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