Rabies Alert: Moroccan Puppy Case Prompts French Health Warning

"The Pasteur Institute confirmed, on Thursday, February 13, 2020, a case of rabies in a puppy held in Saint-Martin-en-Ré. This animal, found in Spain in December, on the side of the road, was brought back to France. The dog was found to be carrying a rabies virus corresponding, in view of the scientific data available this Friday, to a Moroccan origin," the ministry’s press release states. Fortunately, "the animal was euthanized as soon as the symptoms were discovered, on February 4," the same source reassures.

Moreover, the prefect of Charente-Maritime, in connection with the Regional Health Agency, specified all the measures put in place, and in particular, the procedure to be followed for people or any animal that may have been in contact with the dog in question.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, rabies still kills one person every ten minutes in the world. France, for its part, is free of rabies and the last cases of rabies recorded there all come from countries where the disease is rampant. "Once the symptoms appear, rabies is always fatal," it warns.

To prevent such a situation in the future, the ministry recommends not touching stray animals and above all not bringing any back with you after a stay abroad in a high-risk country. Since an illegally introduced animal (unidentified, not properly vaccinated) may prove to be infected and then transmit the disease to other animals or people.