RABIES could creep into US despite strict vaccine regulations, CDC warns after five-month-old rescue puppy that met import requirements from Azerbaijan tests positive for virus
- Rabies was eradicated in the US in 2003, but has been diagnosed five times in the last 15 years from animal imports
- Last year, a puppy tested positive for the virus just three days after arriving at his foster home in Pennsylvania after a flight from Azerbaijan
- The dog started biting the air, started salivating and became agitated
- It was later put down after seizures and cardiac arrest
- Blood tests showed that eight of the 34 animals imported into this shipment had not been properly vaccinated against rabies
- CDC officials now say all animal imports from high-risk countries should have their blood tested to confirm they’ve received the rabies vaccine
Rabies could be re-imported into the US due to incorrect vaccinations, health officials warned Thursday after a five-month-old rescue puppy from Azerbaijan tested positive for the virus last year despite meeting import requirements.
The disease – which causes seizures and foaming in the mouth – was eradicated in the US in 2003, but has come back five times in the past 15 years.
Last year’s case, in which a puppy became ill just three days after arriving with his adopted family in Pennsylvania, was attributed to flawed paperwork.
The animal was certified as vaccinated against rabies in Azerbaijan, but tests showed that it and seven others of the 33 dogs and one cat brought across the border were not fully vaccinated.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last year banned importing dogs from 109 high-risk countries — including four in Eastern Europe.
But it expires later this year, and the CDC is calling for blood tests at ports to confirm that all animals imported from high-risk areas have been vaccinated.
Rabies is transmitted through the bites of infected animals. It is fatal in almost all cases without treatment, with victims’ symptoms progressing from fever to seizures in a matter of days.
CDC officials warn that rabies could be re-imported into the United States. There is no suggestion that the above puppy has rabies
The warning was revealed in a scientific paper published this week in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Lead author Dr Florence Whitehill, an animal disease expert at the CDC, and colleagues said: “A requirement for a rabies vaccination certificate alone will not sufficiently identify inappropriate vaccination practices or fraudulent paperwork and is insufficient as a stand-alone measure to prevent rabies entry.”
†[Blood] testing of animals from high-risk countries and electronic reporting of results directly from pre-qualified labs prior to arrival in the United States should be considered to reduce the risk of importation [rabies]†
In the latter case, the puppy arrived at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois on June 10 last year and was sent to an adoptive family.
Three days later, it started biting invisible objects, hypersalivation and agitated.
The animal was taken to the vet, where it suffered seizures and cardiac arrest. It was put down the same day.
A total of 37 people exposed to the animal — including airport staff, veterinarians and the adoptive family — were screened for the virus.
A total of 15 people were given the drug rabies post-exposure prophylaxis as a precaution, in case they were infected.
No one later contracted rabies, which has an incubation period of 20 to 60 days.
Blood tests showed that seven other animals on the mission—all dogs—had not been adequately vaccinated against rabies by the time they arrived.
The unvaccinated animals were placed in strict quarantine for four to six months to make sure they didn’t have the virus.
The other 25 were quarantined at home for 45 days as a precaution in case they were exposed to the virus.
None of them later developed an infection.
Animals are considered vaccinated against rabies from 28 days after receiving their first injection.
But in some cases – such as in these animals – if too small a starting dose is given, the vaccine cannot elicit immunity.
Rescue workers in Azerbaijan blamed a veterinary assistant for the incorrect vaccinations, who they say was in charge of rabies shots at the time.
They added that a review revealed “numerous” vials of rabies containing a higher-than-expected amount of vaccine remaining.
Last year, America reported five deaths from rabies – the highest number in a decade.
Four of these were in contact with bats, while one was due to a bite from an infected dog.
This was more than the past four years combined, when only three deaths had been reported from the virus.
The CDC said the deaths were tragic and the majority of them could have been prevented with a series of rapid injections. Three of the infected people refused the shots.
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