Greece declares itself free of rabies
rage It is a deadly zoonosis that hosts a large number of mammals, with dogs being the main source of infection and the main route of transmission to humans being dog bites.
Latest case of human rabies in Greece It was discovered in 1970. It was not detected in animals until 2012, since rabies in a dog was confirmed in 1987 in the north of the Hellenic country.
Thus, after 25 years of absence, the disease reappeared at the end of 2012.when a red fox showed up with abnormal behavior and tested positive for the rabies virus after sampling. In addition, at the end of the same year, 8 more cases were confirmed in animals.
The last confirmed case of rabies in Greece was reported in a red fox in May 2014.WHOSA) published Self-proclamation of Greece as a rabies-free country.
The purpose of the self-declaration is to demonstrate that Greece is complying Requirements for a country free from rabies virus infectionin accordance with the WHO Terrestrial Animal Health Code.
As explained by WHO, this first time in Greece for this purpose submits a self-declaration.
To achieve this important milestone, Greece has taken a number of measures, such as the commitment register and vaccinate petscontrolling the movement of domestic animals or vaccinating farm animals against rabies in affected areas, among others.
It should also be noted that from Greece they carried out large-scale oral vaccination campaign for wild animals against rabies.
VACCINATION AND ONE HEALTH: FUNDAMENTAL TOOLS FOR RABIES CONTROL
And just as you remember Carol GulleyCorporate Director of Technical Marketing for the Pet Segment Biogenesis of BagoVaccination is the most powerful tool in the fight against this pathology.
In this sense, the expert indicates that the implementation vaccination programs In animals, especially dogs and cats, it has been shown to be effective in reducing the incidence of the disease in both animals and humans. Vaccinating pets not only protects them, but also protects human health by reducing the risk of virus transmission.
For my part, Chus Perezgeneral manager MSD Animal Health Portugal And Spainadvocates the importance of awareness in “One health” to eradicate this disease from the world.
“Rabies is considered one of the most dangerous zoonoses (diseases transmitted from animals to humans) in the world and is also a fatal disease for which there is no cure. It is for this and many other reasons that it is important to work on health using human- and animal-centered approaches because, as with rabies, 99% of human cases are transmitted by dogs“Similar patterns are observed in many other diseases,” recalls Perez.
According to the expert, the fact that only 3 out of 10 people know what the One Health approach is highlights the importance of targeted efforts to raise awareness of zoonoses and understand that along with vaccinationThe main way to protect animals and families is the best way to protect public health and prevent disease.