Raccoon rabies outbreak still growing, Quebec public health officials say

A raccoon licks his chops in an environment reproducing a Laurentian Maple Forrest during a media event at Montreal's Biodome on Thursday, August 20, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

Quebec public health officials are sounding the alarm as rabies cases continue to spread in regions to the south and east of Montreal.

The province has recorded 76 cases in 2026, only halfway through the year, compared to 93 for all of 2025.

Officials logged 104 cases over three years, during the province’s last outbreak between 2006 and 2009.

Public health officials from the Montérégie and Estrie regions told a media briefing on Thursday that rabies has a 100 per cent mortality rate in humans and animals once symptoms appear.

But they said aggressive treatment can prevent the disease from developing in an exposed person.

They say the best way to stay safe is to avoid contact with unknown domestic and wild animals, and especially with mammals such as raccoons, skunks and foxes.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 19, 2026.