Rabies in Brittany? A possibility.

[Val_2]

I don't want to alarm Brittany residents with precious domestic animals but driving home on Saturday evening I was listening to a local radio station and they had one of the head bods from the dept of Vets here on talking as well as someone from the prefecture. Basically there is a worry that with the huge influx of gypsys/travellers/nomads - call them what you like from the other depts of France here recently for their annual Evangelical get together and the like,there are possibilites that animals have been smuggled in from North Africa that could already be sick and be infected with La Rage. The discussion continued that there could be a possible implimentation of compulsory rabies injections for all animals here to counteract any possible outbreak and seeing how easily this happened down near Bordeaux last year and the animals that had to be put down as a preventative measure of stopping any contagion it would be heartbreaking to so many folk to lose their animals. I had three of my four cats re-done last year after about four years of not needing the jabs and the fourth one has been injected this morning. I would urge those folks on here that live in this region to get their pets done so that at least it is in place. This is not meant to panic anyone hopefully just a bit of info that you may not have heard or read anywhere especially if your french language isn't too hot.

[Christine Animal]

Thanks for that good advice.

As for the "gens de voyage" as they are now called, be very careful if ever they are in your area, they are the biggest dog thieves around.

[nimportequoi]

My dogs are all vaccinated against rabies, but when I was speaking to my Vet about the case last year, he said that all cats were shot regardless of whether or not they are vaccinated, so is it worth it for cats? Consequently I haven't bothered, but would if I knew they wouldn't get shot as a matter of course in the case of rabies in the area.

[Deimos]

It has always surprised me that the UK seems give such low regard routine rabies vaccination. Rabies in the UK has always been just a matter of time (not if but when). When it does happen, the results will depend on how prepared the UK is. With many pets not rabies vaccinated, the UK is fairly unprepared and to my mind the disease stands a good change of having a more major outbreak. Were there more routine vaccination, etc. then maybe outbreak will be more limited.

Personally I don’t regard the EU expansion as significantly increasing the risks as pets are only one route for the disease. Consider that animals such as rats (in fact pretty well any warm blooded animal) can carry rabies. In the example of a rat, as far as I am aware there is no recorded case of a human catching rabies from a rat, but there is no reason why rats should not spread the disease to other warm blooded animals (foxes, etc).

I have always felt that many in the UK are pretty paranoid about the disease. I (and many other people) have happily visited countries where rabies is around yet take few precautions. I do not consider that things like the UK’s 6 month delays after a successful blood test will have a significant impact on the likelihood of the disease entering the UK but is more a reflection of the paranoia. For example, in the US 85% or rabies infected animals are wildlife (rather than pets).

Ian

[Catalpa]

There was an instance of someone contracting rabies from a bite from a bat in the UK... last year? I think it was someone who monitored bats; he was bitten, offered rabies shots, refused them, developed the disease and died. So rabies is in the UK - though probably rare and perhaps pretty much contained within the bat population.

I'm horrified about the comment about cats being destroyed regardless of whether they've been innoculated against the disease. Is this definitely fact? Or the view of one vet?

Edit:

it was in 2002, Scotland

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/2509375.stm

[Deimos]

I feel a bit of a “wally” having misread the title of the post and thinking it was “Rabies in Britain” (rather than Brittany).

When visiting Central America (in the rainforests – camping, visiting bat caves, etc) I tended to get rabies vaccinations before departing (just in case).

Ian

[Teamedup]

Deimos, that is what I read too at first.

[nimportequoi]

My vet said that is what happened in the rabies case in SW France last year, dogs with proof of innoculation were OK, but all cats in the area were shot regardless, I will try and find out more detail (he is a very good vet and was furious about the lack of controls or people bringing animas from N Africa).

[Lollie]

We have our dog done annually here, but I hope this next question doesnt sound dumb,  is this just animals that are allowed out, or would it include rabbits domestic that is?