INFORMATION BULLETIN
Date: 7 May 2008
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Out of hours telephone 020 7270 8960
Rabies case in quarantine in South East England
Defra and the Health Protection Agency have carried out a full and thorough investigation following confirmation of rabies on 25 April in a dog which had originated in Sri Lanka and which died of rabies in a UK quarantine facility.
That investigation has now concluded. In the light of the findings of the investigation, restrictions placed on the quarantine facility on 25 April can be lifted. This also allows us to lift the precautionary restrictions placed on four other dogs that had been released from the same facility when they completed their quarantine period after the dog which died of rabies arrived from Sri Lanka.
A full tracing exercise for animals and humans that may have been in contact with the infected dog was carried out and satisfactorily concluded. Medical advice and treatment, where appropriate, was given to all people who had been in contact with the dog and were considered to be at risk. Even if someone has been bitten by an animal with rabies, prompt post-exposure treatment is highly effective in preventing rabies in humans.
In addition, results from tests on four dogs which were humanely destroyed on 25 April because they were considered to be high risk show that these dogs were not in the later stages of rabies and were not, at the time they were destroyed, infective to other animals at the quarantine.
Defra worked closely with the Health Protection Agency and the Department of Health to ensure that any risks to human and animal health were minimised. The Health Protection Agency is content that restrictions are being lifted.
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Page published: 7 May 2008