Taiwan reports first case of canine rabies infection in decades
CNA 2013-09-11 16:03
The infected dog. (Photo courtesy of Taitung County Animal Disease Control Center)
The Central Epidemic Control Center confirmed Tuesday that a pet dog in Taitung county, eastern Taiwan has been infected with rabies after being bitten by a rabid Formosan ferret-badger.
It is the first time the deadly disease has been found in dogs in Taiwan since a rabies outbreak was reported among ferret-badgers in mid-July after a hiatus of more than five decades.
Before the case, all infections have been confined to ferret-badgers except for one case involving an Asian house shrew, the center said.
It urged dog owners to get their dogs aged over three months old vaccinated and not to allow dogs younger than that to have contact with wild animals.
It said the six-week old puppy being raised in Haiduan township was bitten by the rabies-infected ferret-badger on Aug. 14 and the owner sent it to the Taitung county Animal Disease Control Center the following day.
The center noted that during the observation period, the puppy started to show symptoms of no appetite and extreme depression Sept. 6. It was put down after displaying signs of near collapse two days later.
The carcass was then sent for testing, which confirmed Sept. 9 that it had been infected.
A Council of Agriculture official said Tuesday that the disease is well under control.
Chang Su-san, director of the council's Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine, noted that the dog was only six weeks old and had not been vaccinated.
The epidemic control center urged people to keep their distance from wild animals and to make sure their pets are vaccinated.
The vaccination rate among dogs and cats is now over 90%, it said.
If pets display erratic behavior such as appetite loss, restlessness or aggression, owners should alert animal disease control centers immediately, the center said.
