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As of June 1, 2026, rabies testing services are no longer provided at the
CFIA Lethbridge Laboratory (National Centre for Animal Disease).
- Animals that did not have human or domestic animal contact, or that caused only a Category I exposure will no longer be tested by the CFIA (with the exception of confirmatory testing for wildlife surveillance samples).
The CFIA follows the World Health Organization Expert Consultation on Rabies (3rd Report, 2018) definitions of exposure to determine eligibility for rabies testing.
- For CFIA purposes, classification of exposure relates both to humans and domestic animals.
- Category III exposure is defined as single or multiple transdermal bites or scratches, licks on broken skin, or contamination of mucous membranes with saliva, or direct contact with a bat. Animals submitted for testing that have caused a Category III exposure will be tested at no charge.
- Category II exposure is defined as nibbling of uncovered skin or minor scratches or abrasions without bleeding. Animals submitted for testing that have caused a Category II exposure will be tested at no charge.
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Category I exposure is defined as touching an animal or licks on intact skin, even if the animal is rabid. For humans, it also includes feeding of animals. There is no possibility of exposure to the rabies virus through these types of contact. Animals that have caused a Category I exposure, or no exposure at all, will not be accepted for testing.
- Turnaround times for rabies testing during peak periods (June through September) will likely increase, but human contact cases will be prioritized.
- Variant typing and confirmatory testing for wildlife surveillance samples will be conducted as and when resources allow, however, priority cases will be expedited (e.g., new incursions, imported cases).
- See the updated
CFIA Rabies Guidance on the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association website.
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Refer to the
BC Rabies Guidance for Veterinarians for detailed information on submitting a sample for testing.
Rabies is a reportable animal disease to BC’s Chief Veterinarian under the Reportable and Notifiable Disease Regulation, BC Animal Health Act and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) under the federal Reportable Diseases Regulations, Health of Animals Act.
Veterinarians fulfill their reporting requirements by submitting suspect animals for rabies testing. They also have a responsibility to follow the
BC Guidance for Veterinarians and manage animal exposures in accordance with this guidance.
Administration of a post-exposure rabies vaccine within 7 days is indicated in all scenarios of domestic animal exposures. Veterinarians also have an important role to play in recommending pets be vaccinated against rabies and encouraging their immunizations are kept up to date.
If, after referring to the guidance, you require further assistance, the next point of contact for BC veterinary practices about rabies testing is through the BCCDC Public Health Veterinarian (PHV). Please do not contact CFIA Rabies Laboratory without contacting the BCCDC PHV first.
In British Columbia, the Reporting Information Affecting Public Health Regulation requires veterinarians to report to a Medical Health Officer (MHO) all known or suspected cases of a person exposed to rabies.
- When a veterinarian becomes aware that a human has been exposed to a potentially rabid animal (domestic or wild) they will:
- explain that rabies is a serious, zoonotic disease; and
- encourage the client to consult their physician or local public health authority for further guidance; and
- report the potential human rabies exposure to the health authority where the exposed human resides.
- The scenarios where a veterinarian who is aware of a domestic animal bite or scratch in BC needs to immediately report to public health are the following:
- the animal is exhibiting clinical signs compatible with rabies at the time of the bite/scratch; or
- the animal was imported from or travelled out of BC in the preceding 6 months; or
- the animal has been known to have had contact with a bat in the preceding 6 months; or
- the animal is not available for assessment and management (e.g. stray or feral).
- BC Rabies Guidance for Veterinarians
- For general information, see BCCDC’s
Rabies page.
- For questions about and access to pre-exposure rabies vaccination, please contact your local health authority (see
Health Authority Contact Information
section below). - See WorkSafe BC’s rabies page for safe work procedures.
If you are aware of a dead bat where there has been no human or pet contact, you can contact the
BC Community Bat Program or
send an email to ask if they need to collect it for wildlife health surveillance purposes. They collect dead bats for BC's bat health surveillance program between November 1 to May 31. From June 1 to October 31, they do not collect dead bats, so the bat can be safely disposed of in the garbage.
- See BCCDC’s rabies bulletins that summarize rabies testing results from BC submissions.
Refer to the following webpages for further information on:
- Ticks can be identified via eTick, which provides a free, quick and efficient method to identify tick species found on animals .
- Tick identification through eTick can assist practitioners with their management of tick bites on animals and inform the advice they provide to clients related to ticks and tick-borne diseases.
- Veterinary practices can also encourage their clients to submit photos of ticks directly to eTick .
- Ticks identified by eTick as black-legged ticks (Ixodes sp) can be tested for tick-borne pathogens at the BCCDC Public Health Laboratory (PHL) for a fee (see details below).
- Tick identification and testing service for veterinary practices is available at the BCCDC PHL on a fee-for-service basis. Ticks found on BC animals can also be tested at the BCCDC Public Health Laboratory. Veterinarians will be charged $75 per tick for tick identification and PCR testing for Lyme disease if it is not a human related tick. If no Lyme disease carrying tick is identified, there is a $30 charge for tick identification only. Please note that rates are subject to change.
- Submissions to the BCCDC PHL for ticks found on animals must be submitted by a veterinary practice and not by an individual animal owner.
- Only ticks identified as black-legged ticks (Ixodes sp) are tested for pathogens at BCCDC.
- To fill a requisition for a tick found on an animal, leave the personal health number (PHN) section blank but fill in the owner’s and pet’s name in the patient field, e.g., Smith, John (Dog Fido). For more details and to view a sample requisition, refer to the ‘Tick Identification and Testing’ section on the
Tick-borne diseases webpage.
Hours: Monday to Friday 8:30am – 4:30pm, except for statutory holidays.
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Fraser Health: 1-866-990-9941, option 2
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Interior Health: Find your local health centre at
https://www.interiorhealth.ca/locations or 1-866-778-7736
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Island Health:
- Central: 1-866-770-7798
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North: 1-877-887-8835
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South: 1-866-665-6626
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Northern Health: 1-855-755-3555
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Vancouver Coastal Health: 1-604-675-3900
For use only by veterinary staff and healthcare providers.
For
urgent human medical issues
outside of regular business hours, veterinarians, technicians, and healthcare workers may use the following contact information to speak to a medical health officer on call:
- Fraser Health: 1-604-527-4806
- Interior Health: 1-866-457-5648
- Island Health: 1-800-204-6166
- Northern Health: 1-833-214-3274
- Vancouver Coastal Health: 1-604-527-4893
