Jsimpson1986
New Member
Are all mammals in zoos regularly vaccinated and monitored for rabies? Or only those that interact with the public like petting zoos?
Question about rabies control in zoos
- Thread starter Jsimpson1986
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No. A lot of species aren't known to ever carry rabies.
Jsimpson1986
New Member
Oh I see so are the only protective measures done on species that commonly carry the virus? Or do zoos only monitor animals to see if they're sick and not necessarily vaccinating them? Thanks!
From what I've seen/heard, it can vary a lot by state (and country, of course). Different zoos have different protocols, too. Some vaccinate as much as possible, some stick to the main vector species, some others don't do any. It also depends on what species the facility has and how common rabies is in the area.
It all depends solely on country - its legislation and rabies endemicity situation.
In Czechia, that had seen zero rabies cases in last 20 years, local zoos give rabies vaccination only to their dogs, wolves, foxes, jackals, badgers, scunks and closely related vector species.
Main rabies danger that must be monitored and prevented is import of rabid animals from abroad. If a zoo imports from country where rabies is known to occur, any mammal must stay 30 days in quarantine after import. State veterinary institute might require rabies vaccination and titre testing done in country of origin and x-days long pre-import quarantine - before it approves an import from a non-EU zoo.
In Czechia, that had seen zero rabies cases in last 20 years, local zoos give rabies vaccination only to their dogs, wolves, foxes, jackals, badgers, scunks and closely related vector species.
Main rabies danger that must be monitored and prevented is import of rabid animals from abroad. If a zoo imports from country where rabies is known to occur, any mammal must stay 30 days in quarantine after import. State veterinary institute might require rabies vaccination and titre testing done in country of origin and x-days long pre-import quarantine - before it approves an import from a non-EU zoo.
Jsimpson1986
New Member
Thanks for the insight! When talking about Czechia or other countryies having 0 rabies cases, is it only considering cases reported in domesticated animals or also including rabies surveillance of the country's wildlife?
It includes also zero cases in wild terrestrial mammals. We have permanent surveilance of vectors, in our case of red foxes and raccoon dogs. Local hunters must send at least 4 dead animals collected in every 100 km2 to laboratory to test them for rabies, every year.