U.S. free of canine-rabies, according to CDC

William Atkins
Wednesday, 12 September 2007 03:58

Science - Health

Microsoft Office 365

In the report, Dr. Charles Rupprecht, who is the head of the CDC Rabies Program, states,“The elimination of dog-to-dog transmission of rabies does not mean that people in the US can stop vaccinating their pets against rabies. Rabies is ever-present in wildlife and can be transmitted to dogs or other pets. We need to stay vigilant.”

The CDC made its announcement at the Inaugural “World Rabies Day” Symposium, which was founded by the CDC and the England-based Alliance for Rabies Control, and sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Organization for Animal Health.

According to the WHO, about 55,000 human deaths occur globally each year from rabies. Almost all cases occur in Africa, Asia, India, and South America. Rabies in humans is treatable, however, only before symptoms begin to appear. It is also preventable in humans with a vaccine.

In the United States, vaccinated dogs cannot get rabies from other vaccinated dogs, which is what this announcement, in essence, means. Thus, rabies has NOT been eliminated, only canine-rabies and only in the United States.

Dogs can still get rabies from wild animals, such as skunks, foxes, and raccoons, in the United States. People who adopt dogs from other countries that have undetected canine-rabies can also spread rabies to dogs. Thus, to totally eliminate canine-rabies throughout the world, global prevention and control of canine-rabies is needed.
Canine rabies is untreatable and fatal to dogs. Canine-rabies occurs around the world. It is especially prevalent in the countries of Latin America, countries of the sub-Saharan Africa, and the countries of India, China, and the Philippines.

Rabies in dogs in the United States has been eliminated through dog vaccinations, licensing, and stray dog control.  However, rabies remains a threat in the United States from wild animals, such as bats, and domestic animals, such as cats. Most rabies cases in the United States are from wild animals, not domestic animals.

Rabies, which comes from the Latin word “rabies” means “rave, to be mad”. It is a viral disease that causes inflammation of the brain in mammals. When humans are not vaccinated before or immediately after exposure, rabies is essentially fatal if neurological symptoms appear—only a few humans have survived being exposed to rabies.

Canine-rabies usually has three stages. The first stage lasts around two days, in which the dog begins to have noticeable behavioral changes. The second stage, which occurs over three to four days, shows the dog becoming increasingly excited, with a high occurrence of biting at anything close by. The third stage happens then the dog begins to show damage to its nervous system and paralysis begins to set in. Death soon occurs, generally due to respiratory failure.

For more information about World Rabies Day, go to the CDC World Rabies Day website or the World Rabies Day website.