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Alberta has seen more than double the amount of rabies cases in bats this year compared to 2015.

Nine cases of rabies have been discovered so far this year, compared to four last year, said Darcia Kostiuk, Alberta’s public health veterinarian. In the last month, three local cases have been discovered, including one in Edmonton on Sept. 9. Another case was discovered in Camrose at the end of August, with the third coming a month ago in Edmonton.

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The spike could be traced to increased awareness among Albertans, as the number of reports to the province has also doubled. The percentage of positive cases from those reports has remained roughly the same.

“There are a few more cases than normal because we’re actually testing more. If we compare this year’s to last year’s numbers — to the end of August — we’ve tested about 60 more bats,” said Kostiuk. “This year we’re already at 117 at the end of August, whereas last year we were only around 60.”

The province doesn’t do any proactive testing, but responds to reports from vets and Albertans who have interactions with bats. Anyone who has had contact with a bat, or who has a pet that has had contact with one, should call their local vet clinic or the public health vet.