Communicable Disease Prevention and Control
Insect and Animal-Related Diseases
Rabies
Rabies is a disease that affects the nervous system of mammals. It is spread by a virus that can infect humans. While other parts of Canada have strains of rabies carried by several different animals, rabies in Nova Scotia is almost always limited to bats.
Bats are a common sight in the province, but you won't catch rabies simply by seeing a bat. The rabies virus has to get inside our body, and it can only do that through a bite, or if the bat saliva enters our body by touching our eyes or getting inside our nose or mouth.
It's impossible to tell if a bat is carrying the rabies virus, and although bat-strain rabies is very rare, it's a good precaution to avoid contact with all bats.
Click here for a detailed list of questions and answers about rabies.