Spain Faces High Rabies Risk Due to Low Dog Vaccination Rates, Study Warns

According to this report published as part of World Rabies Day celebrated on September 28, the rabies situation is "particularly critical" in communities like Catalonia, especially since the frequency of dog vaccination against rabies has been "very low" since 2019 where the vaccination coverage did not reach 12%. "The vaccination coverage in Spain is very low in the communities where it is not mandatory and even where it is mandatory," the report states.

MSD Animal Health has called for the implementation of an annual mandatory vaccination protocol in Spain against rabies for dogs, cats and ferrets in order to end this "dangerous" and "deadly for humans" epidemic. "Rabies is not a disease of the past, it is still present and vaccination should be mandatory throughout the national territory because, as has already been demonstrated with many other viral diseases, viruses do not know borders," explains the pharmaceutical company.

Rabies affects more than 150 countries and causes the death of about 60,000 people each year, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO). This is why the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) recommends vaccinating at least 70% of dogs in high-risk areas in order to reduce the number of fatal cases in humans (99%). "Achieving a vaccination percentage below 70% is not only a risk for the autonomous community that decides not to vaccinate, but it also significantly influences collective immunity," the report notes.

It adds: "The geographical proximity to northern Morocco, a country affected by endemic rabies, as well as the movement of unvaccinated animals that come into contact with the dogs of Ceuta and Melilla explain the appearance of some cases in this region." Some associations have joined this awareness campaign, assuring that rabies "can be prevented and dog vaccination is very effective. It is an essential means of eradicating the disease and achieving the elimination of rabies by 2030, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)".