After more than two decades, vaccination against rabies is now compulsory for dogs in Asturias – Animalshealth

This Monday, March 27, the Government of the Principality of Asturias has published in its official bulletin the resolution establishing standards for the development of the rabies vaccination of dogs, cats and ferrets.

In the resolution, the Asturian Executive points out that the World Health Organization and the World Organization for Animal Health, consider periodic vaccination prophylaxis against rabies disease of the species that represent the greatest risk of transmission, as the basic pillar of any program to combat this disease.

It also highlights that anger is a viral disease that affects the central nervous system of mammals (dogs, cats, foxes, etc.), and may also affect Humans. It is one of the most important zoonoses due to its clinical severity, with a lethality of 100%.

Due to all of this, any measure that is adopted to reduce the risk of infection and spreadis a protection measure both in terms of public health, as well as animal health, and also for the protection of companion animals, since as it is a disease that always presents a fatal outcome, the necessary sacrifices derived from the appearance of the disease will be avoided. of an epidemic focus ”, they point out from the Government of Asturias.

On the other hand, they point out that since 2002, the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias is One of the few autonomous communities where rabies vaccination is not mandatory in the canine populationexcept for dogs classified as potentially dangerous since the entry into force of Law 13/2002, of December 23, on the ownership, protection and rights of animals.

“However, at the present time, the geographic proximity to countries where rabies is endemic, such as North Africa, with recent cases in the Autonomous City of Melilla, the conflictive situation that has been Eastern Europeespecially the war in Ukraine, a country where the rabies disease is widespread among animals and the human population, and where the war has led to a significant exodus of people accompanied by their pets, the increasing increase of movements and entry of people with their pets, as well as the growing census of dogs, make it essential to adopt the decision to reinstate the mandatory anti-rabies vaccination of dogs in our region, as a prophylaxis measure to prevent the presentation and possible spread of this serious illness,” they say.

For all this, vaccination is mandatory against the rage of registered dogs in the Principality of Asturias. The first vaccination will be carried out when the dog is at least three months old and before it reaches six months, with revaccination being mandatory before the end of the validity period of the vaccine as established in the technical specification of the marketing authorization of the vaccine used.

“Rabies vaccination for cats and ferrets will be voluntarywithout prejudice to its mandatory application in cases of intra-community exchanges”, they clarify.