Rabies Alert in Melilla: Spanish Enclave Tightens Animal Travel Rules Amid Outbreak

The alert level was declared after the detection of these four cases at the National Reference Laboratory of the Carlos III Health Institute in Madrid, "in accordance with the emergency plan for the control of rabies in domestic animals in Spain" as well as the health protocol of the autonomous city, relays Europa Press.

To prevent any risk of transmission, the Melilla Public Health Department has established a series of measures that will last at least six months. The city authorities have warned that any aggressive animal likely to contract rabies found in the city (except those properly identified and vaccinated), "will be considered a probable case and, in any case, epidemiological surveillance must be extreme."

Contact between livestock and any domestic animal will also be avoided. "If livestock surveillance suspects that an animal may have been infected, it will be isolated and, if it shows compatible symptoms, it will be slaughtered and tested for rabies," explained Randa Mohamed, Councilor for Social Policies and Public Health.

Level 1 alert also takes into account the strengthening of the control of stray or abandoned animals, added the councilor, stressing that vigilance will be maintained in the city, its outskirts and border areas. It is also recalled that anti-rabies vaccination is mandatory for dogs, cats and ferrets, as well as their identification. Controls will also be strengthened at the borders.