Rabies infected puppy imported into the Netherlands

A rabid puppy recently imported from Morocco to the Netherlands highlights how far dogs infected with rabies can travel with human help, and how people are put at risk when international legislations with respect to vaccination requirements are not fully obeyed.

In January 2012, a Dutch couple living in Morocco acquired an 8 week old puppy in a parking lot. They visited a local veterinarian who microchipped the puppy and issued a certificate of good health, but did not vaccinate it. Subsequently, the couple travelled to Spain where they acquired a European Pet Passport for the dog and they then flew with the dog to the Netherlands. Despite customs officials cuddling the dog, the pet passport was never examined in Spain or in the Netherlands. The couple introduced the dog to friends and family in the Netherlands, but soon afterwards it started to act abnormally, and it bit the owners on 14th February. The dog was initially diagnosed as having stress from the journey and was prescribed sedatives, but by 15th February its behavior was uncontrollable. When the veterinarian learned that the dog had originated in Morocco, they sought advice and consequently euthanized the dog and submitted samples to the diagnostic laboratory for rabies testing. On the evening of 15th February a positive result was confirmed.

Upon confirmation of a positive diagnosis, the public health services and the Centre for Infectious Disease Control in the Netherlands launched a joint investigation tracing all humans and animals that could have been exposed to the dog during the two weeks prior to the day of onset of clinical symptoms until its death. A total of 48 known contacts in three different countries needed to be contacted. Forty-five persons required post-exposure prophylaxis including all nine children that were in contact with the puppy as a precautionary measure against inaccurate reporting of their exposures. Including the imported dog, three animals were euthanized.

The owners had attempted to import the dog legally. However, the international protocol for importation of pets was not followed properly by the consulted veterinarians in Morocco and Spain and customs in Spain and the Netherlands. The European dog passport was incorrectly issued, and vaccination records were not reviewed at three separate customs stations. Lessons learned from the evaluation need to be communicated internationally to urge veterinarians and customs departments to adhere to international legislation appropriately. This is the first case of classical rabies in a domestic or wild animal in the Netherlands since 1988, and resulted in a costly public health response.

Summarised by Louise Taylor from a report by van Rijckevorsel and colleagues in the March 8th 2012 issue of EuroSurveillance.