Rabies in the Netherlands – ongoing risk to Ireland

Veterinary Ireland comment

A case of rabies in two pups imported from Bulgaria to the Netherlands was confirmed on 21st October(1) .

Commenting on behalf of Veterinary Ireland, Alan Rossiter, veterinary surgeon in Greystones, Co. Wicklow and immediate past President of Veterinary Ireland said:

“This recent case of rabies in the Netherlands in pups legally imported from Bulgaria demonstrates that even when the import rules are adhered to the risk of rabies spreading across borders still exists. We know that pups are brought into Ireland from Bulgaria – indeed I saw one myself last year that was illegally imported - and what worries us deeply is these rabid pups could just as easily have arrived into Ireland as they did the Netherlands.”

Mr Rossiter continued “It is likely that the pups were exposed to rabies before they were vaccinated in Bulgaria, but due to the long incubation period they were not yet showing any signs of disease at the time of vaccination. We can now say that system in place failed to detect and prevent rabies moving from one state to another, as was predicted it would.

Explaining the explain why the current system is open to failure, Mr Rossiter said:

“Up to last year the rules stipulated that dogs and cats had to essentially wait almost seven months after rabies vaccination before they could travel into Ireland, and they also had to have a blood test done to make sure the rabies vaccine was effective. This was a good robust system that served us well down the years. The new rules only stipulate that dogs and cats have to be vaccinated against rabies just three weeks before they can move from any member state to another. After this three week wait they can move unhindered.

`”However the incubation period of rabies - the period between getting infected and first showing signs of disease - can be up to six months, or even longer. It is therefore very possible that an animal could have already been infected with rabies before it is vaccinated, and then only show symptoms several weeks to months later, long after it has arrived into its new country. Based on this simple scientific fact we have long argued that when moving dogs and cats from an area where rabies exists to an area free of rabies this new system is not scientifically valid and will fail. Unfortunately we have now been shown to have been correct in our fears.

Asked why we should be so worried about rabies reaching our shores, Mr Rossiter continued:

“Once an infected human shows any symptoms there is virtually no chance of recovery, and the fate suffered by victims is slow, agonising and horrendous death. 55,000 people worldwide die this death every year, mostly children in impoverished African and Asian states, with many sent home to die “because it is cheaper to move a live body than a dead body”.(2)

“This case in the Netherlands demonstrates that due to the revised importation requirements we are at more risk than ever from this awful disease, and we urge the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to continue to take all steps possible to protect our valued rabies free status, and to lobby for a re-examination of the pet movement rules by the EU. In particular and at a minimum we urge that the regulations that are currently in place are now rigidly enforced, including checking at ports that any dog or cat entering Ireland from any other state, including Britain, has a valid Pet Passport and is vaccinated against rabies.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

The infected pups were rescued last July from the streets of Silistra, a port town in the north of Bulgaria and bordering Romania, at about a month of age and then kept in a shelter. The vet health check and rabies vaccination was done on 2nd September and they left for the Netherlands on 3rd October, with the pup being euthanased on 18th October after a Dutch vet who became suspicious of rabies reported it to the Dutch authorities.

All the requirements for legal movement from Bulgaria to the Netherlands - vet checks, rabies vaccines, etc were complied with and the pups were found to be healthy before departure. Symptoms of rabies only  became apparent two weeks after arrival in the Netherlands, a full six weeks after the vet check and rabies vaccine.

References:

1. http://www.oie.int/wahis_2/public/wahid.php/Reviewreport/Review?page_refer=MapFullEventReport&reportid=14271
2. http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/publications/Rabies%20is%20Still%20Deadliest%20Disease,%20Yet%20Preventable.pdf

For further information and comment please contact Alan Rossiter MVB, past President of Veterinary Ireland 086 8250067, 01 2875283, alan@vets.ie