Rabat – France’s Pasteur Institute in Paris has detected a rare case of rabies in a Husky-cross dog, with initial investigations indicating that the dog “could have been illegally imported from Morocco, a country where rabies is endemic,” France’s Ministry of Agriculture said on Thursday. Rabies is a fatal viral disease that is preventable through vaccination.
The dog, which was held in a shelter in Evry-Courcouronnes in Essonne, bit several people, according to the statement. The wounded people were taken to the Pasteur Institute’s anti-rabies center to receive the necessary treatment.
French health authorities received on Tuesday, October 25 a report suspecting rabies in the four-year-old dog, said the source, adding that the diagnosis was confirmed on Thursday. The dog first began displaying symptoms of the virus on October 19 and died on October 25.
During the dog’s incubation period, which may last between weeks to months, “the dog remained in the shelter, alone in its box or in a small courtyard” away from other animals in the shelter, which showed no symptoms or sign of infection, the ministry indicated.
Given the incubation period of rabies, the ministry suggested that the dog contracted the disease before arriving at the shelter.
Read also: Man Dies of Rabies in Spain After Cat Bite in Morocco
France’s health authorities carried out an investigation to identify individuals who may have been in direct contact with the animal during the incubation period, which was determined between October 5 and 25.
ARS Île-de-France, the regional health agency, contacted the people who were exposed to the dog with the aim of setting up consultations at the anti-rabies center if necessary.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), rabies is present in 150 countries across the world, including Morocco, with up to 95% of cases occurring in Africa and Asia.
“Dogs are the main source of human rabies deaths, contributing up to 99% of all rabies transmissions to humans,” indicated the WHO.
