Rabies Outbreak Confirmed in Ceuta After Stray Dog Tests Positive

The animal was captured last Saturday after the local police received an alert indicating the presence of a stray dog "showing signs of rabies". It died on Monday after being placed in isolation. The animal health service performed an autopsy on the body, confirming the suspicions of rabies. This is the first case of rabies recorded in the city after those declared in 2012 and 2019. In the latter year, the local government declared the rabies outbreak after detecting the virus in a puppy from Morocco.

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The local executive has already taken preventive measures to limit the spread of the virus. In this sense, all dogs and cats under 12 months will be vaccinated and all stray animals on public roads will be considered abandoned and euthanized after 21 days or subjected to isolation for six months. Moreover, animal owners will have to keep them on non-extensible leashes in the street and keep their health card to prove that they are identified by microchip and properly vaccinated, the decree published in a special edition of the Official Journal of Ceuta (BOCCE) specified.

All the measures taken will be valid for at least six months. In addition, the administration has asked any person who has been "bitten or scratched by a dog or any unknown animal" to go quickly to a health center to receive appropriate care.