Iqaluit vet hopes to better serve Nunavut

Iqaluit veterinarian Dr. Leia Cunningham is pictured here in her mobile clinic, shortly after she opened her NunaVet Animal Hospital in Apex in 2011. (FILE PHOTO)

When the latest outbreak of rabies hit two communities in the Baffin region earlier this month, it took days, maybe weeks, for that information to reach the person who might have been in the best position to help — Nunavut’s only resident veterinarian, Dr. Leia Cunningham.

In Pangnirtung, a rabid fox wandered into the community May 5 and attacked a number of dogs.

The fox was immediately destroyed, along with 20 dogs, over the last few weeks.

Pond Inlet also reported a case of rabies earlier this month, when bylaw officers destroyed a fox that had attacked dogs in that community.

Cunningham’s Iqaluit clinic didn’t receive any phone calls or messages regarding the outbreak, which she said has served as an eye-opener.

“I read about it in the newspaper like everyone else,” Cunningham said. “Nobody contacted me and I never reached out.”

But Cunningham would like that to change. Since the Iqaluit-raised veterinarian opened her NunaVet Animal Hospital in 2011, she’s served about 3,000 clients — most of them Iqalungmiut, but also clients in other communities.

“We’re always available by email or phone to answer questions,” she said. “And we work with other communities all the time.”

In the face of potentially deadly outbreaks, Cunningham said her goal is to do better outreach across the territory, and she hopes to do that in partnership with the Government of Nunavut and local hamlets vaccination programs.

“The biggest thing is public education,” she said.

NunaVet can — and does — send out parvo and distemper vaccines to other communities, when residents order them.

Federal legislation does not permit her clinic to send out rabies vaccines. That must be administered through public health authorities, but Cunningham said she could still offer other support.

“The number one thing is vaccination,” she said. “We just had a parvovirus outbreak in Iqaluit, and I saw 14 cases in just 12 days. In a well-vaccinated population, that should happen.”

Because they were treated quickly, all the dogs lived, Cunningham said, but parvovirus is a much greater risk in other Nunavut communities, where hamlets do not administer a vaccination program.

At least viruses like parvo and distemper are not transmissible to humans, she said, while rabies is — making that a more urgent public health issue when a community faces an outbreak.

“While vaccinating against rabies, it’s so important to make sure it’s done properly, because rabies in humans can be fatal,” Cunningham warned.

To prevent rabies outbreaks in other Nunavut communities, Cunningham advises that residents keep their dogs from interacting with foxes — the major source of rabies in the North.

Apart from that, Nunavummiut should be aware of the symptoms; the “furious” strain of rabies will cause the animal to act aggressively or foam at the mouth, while the “dumb” strain of rabies is less evident — animals will appear lethargic, drool and their eyes appear glazed over.

“Never approach a dog that shows those kind of symptoms,” Cunningham said.

Nunavummiut with questions about the health of their dogs or other pets can contact NunaVet Animal Hospital at (867) 979-1181.