September 28 is not only the holiday of the patron saint of the Czech land, St. Wenceslas, and the Czech Statehood Day associated with this anniversary. On the same day, organizations responsible for human and animal health around the world, including the State Veterinary Administration (SVS), also traditionally commemorate “World Rabies Day” (World Rabbis Day). Although the Czech Republic has been free of rabies for more than twenty years, the risk of re-introduction of this dangerous disease still exists.
World Rabies Day was set for September 28, the anniversary of the death of Louis Pasteur, who was responsible for the development of the first rabies vaccine. The creation of the “world day” in 2007 was supported by the Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) and other institutions. The goal is to raise awareness of rabies and its prevention among people around the world.
The fact that between 1919 and 1937 more than 130 people died from this disease on the territory of the state is evidence of the kind of problem rabies was in Czechoslovakia before the Second World War. Almost 25,000 of them had to be medically vaccinated during the same period, mostly after being injured by an animal. The last human death from rabies occurred in 1968. After the introduction of mandatory and free vaccination in the 1950s, the incidence of the disease in dogs was reduced to a minimum. Foxes gradually became the main spreader of the disease. Thanks to the vaccination of foxes through ampoules with vaccine inside suitable baits throughout the country, it was possible to gradually eradicate the disease completely. The last three cases were recorded among foxes in the Trutnovsk region in 2002. Since June 23, 2004, the Czech Republic has been officially rabies-free.
Preventive monitoring, which is carried out by SVS in cooperation with the National Reference Laboratory for Rabies at the State Veterinary Institute in Prague, also contributes to ensuring that this continues to be the case. So far this year, 1,864 animals, mainly foxes, have been examined. In all cases with a negative result.
On this occasion, SVS also reminds that all dogs, but also foxes and badgers, kept in captivity must be vaccinated and then revaccinated against rabies at the age of 3 to 6 months. Whether dogs are vaccinated against rabies has long been a part of inspections by veterinary inspectors in dog farms.
“Although this obligation has been valid in the Czech lands for more than 70 years, there are still breeders who do not fulfill it. Last year, as part of its inspections, it found missing or invalid vaccinations in 380 cases,” stated central director of SVS Zbyněk Semerád. For non-fulfillment of the obligation, the breeder may be fined up to CZK 20,000.
In the Czech Republic, there is still an obligation to present an animal that has injured a person for examination by a private veterinarian on the 1st and 5th day after the injury. In the first half of this year, veterinarians have so far reported a total of 656 animals that injured humans to the SVS. In neither case was it found that the animal showed clinical signs of the disease.
Mandatory vaccination against rabies is also required in the case of all movements of animals susceptible to this disease to the territory of the Czech Republic from other states. In connection with this, SVS has repeatedly warned against the importation of animals from areas with a worsened infection situation, which pose a huge risk.
Unlike the Czech Republic, rabies continues to occur in some other European countries. Several positive cases per year are reported from Poland, Hungary and Romania. Turkey and Ukraine have long been among the risky countries. Rabies is most widespread in Africa and Asia, the most endangered population group are children, who are most often injured by stray dogs.
More detailed information on the issue of rabies can be found on the SVS website.
A global strategic plan supported by major stakeholder organizations is to eliminate human deaths from dog rabies worldwide by 2030. More on the website Global Alliance for Rabies ControlA combination of preventive measures such as vaccination of domestic animals against rabies, capture of stray animals and control of the health status of wild animals should lead to improvement of the situation. The key is an approach based on interdisciplinary cooperation in the spirit of the One Health principle (one health) and education with the aim of increasing the awareness of the world’s population about the risks of rabies.
Petr Vorlíček
press spokesman SVS