‘The Dutch have to watch out for rabies’

Not only do we need to be vigilant about corona, but we also probably need to watch out for rabies, aka rabies. So says an expert slash advisor for an animal welfare organization.

The deadly disease does not occur in our country at the moment, but can come along with young dogs from Eastern Europe that are imported into our country. By biting, scratching and licking wounds, the bugs can transfer it not only to each other, for example during transport, but ultimately also to people. As soon as someone who is infected gets complaints, “there is no point anymore.”

“This is very worrying, there is a real risk that this virus will also enter our country through the bread breeding trade.” says Paul Overgauw, specialist Veterinary Microbiology KNMvD about the House of Animals research.https://t.co/EgrZm8vn8h pic.twitter.com/bXKp5gQ1NF

– Karen Soeters (@KarenSoeters) September 2, 2020

50.000 pups

Clear language by Paul Overgaauw, veterinarian microbiologist at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Utrecht. He advises the animal welfare organization House of Animals, which also raises the alarm. According to Overgaauw, at least 50,000 puppies a year are imported into our country, seen or unseen. According to him, the papers of the dogs often mentioned vaccinations that were not actually given.

The dogs must be at least 15 weeks old and (by 12 weeks) vaccinated against rabies to be allowed to be traded, but the vast majority are younger, usually only about six weeks, says the vet, who was also concerned in the past about rabbits and claimed that people with a cat or dog are more likely to survive a heart attack.

Older dogs are, according to the doctor, of no interest to the exporters in Eastern Europe: the care and the food will otherwise cost them too much.

Paul Overgaauw PhD: “Dog and cat owners also have an arguably greater chance of surviving a heart attack than people without #pets.”

— GlobalPETS (@GlobalPETSinfo) September 19, 2016

Paul Overgaauw: “Over the past year, many #rabbits have died as the result of RHDV2″ https://t.co/XH048jU073 #disease #pets pic.twitter.com/H9C0qJIIpW

— GlobalPETS (@GlobalPETSinfo) December 14, 2016

Blood test

House of Animals did blood tests on puppies exported from Hungary to our country. Samples of dogs that ended up at a dealer in Brabant via Hungary, are according to House of Animals “No or too few antibodies” against rabies found in the blood.

House of Animals will file a complaint next week against the trader in Brabant and also against the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA), because the authority would not be able to enforce the rules sufficiently. According to Overgaauw, there is not enough knowledge at customs, for example, and only roughly the dogs are looked at.

NVWA rabies

The NVWA says it is deploying a lot of capacity against rabies and that Hungary is not a country with a high risk of this. The authority has long warned people to be careful when buying puppies and only take them if there are papers. The NVWA checks the certificates as much as possible and must, according to the ‘European principle of trust’, assume that the papers from other member states are correct. If they are suspicious, the authority will also report this to the countries of origin.

Humans can be vaccinated against rabies, but this actually only happens to travelers to certain distant destinations.

Also read about the NVWA’s ‘black hygiene list’ with dirty and unsafe restaurants