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Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/so-pet-infections-1.7010495
Rabies hitched a ride to Canada in dogs flown from Iran. Scientists caught the spread just in time
New review paper highlights importance of surveillance for new strains of viruses, bacteria
Amina Zafar · CBC News · Posted: Oct 28, 2023 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: October 28
When two dogs imported to Canada from Iran on separate occasions in 2021 developed deadly canine rabies, alarm bells rang loudly for public health officials. They scrambled to trace dozens of people who may have been in contact with the animals' saliva to give preventive treatment before it was too late.
The quick action staved off what could have become a fatal disease in at least 60 people, including the dogs' foster and adopted families, their friends, as well as staff at several veterinary clinics across Ontario.
For epidemiologists, cases such as those underscore the importance of surveillance for new strains of viruses and bacteria coming into Canada by way of animals, a subject highlighted in a review paper published in Science Translational Medicine last week.
"It's pretty concerning for individuals when they're told that a dog you came in contact with had rabies," said Dr. Tasha Epp, a veterinarian and epidemiologist at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon tracking diseases that can be transmitted between animals and humans.
Epp is among several researchers on the lookout for more dog rabies in North America. The authors of the review paper apply the same principles to other illnesses originating in wild and domestic animals...
Rabies hitched a ride to Canada in dogs flown from Iran. Scientists caught the spread just in time
New review paper highlights importance of surveillance for new strains of viruses, bacteria
Amina Zafar · CBC News · Posted: Oct 28, 2023 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: October 28
When two dogs imported to Canada from Iran on separate occasions in 2021 developed deadly canine rabies, alarm bells rang loudly for public health officials. They scrambled to trace dozens of people who may have been in contact with the animals' saliva to give preventive treatment before it was too late.
The quick action staved off what could have become a fatal disease in at least 60 people, including the dogs' foster and adopted families, their friends, as well as staff at several veterinary clinics across Ontario.
For epidemiologists, cases such as those underscore the importance of surveillance for new strains of viruses and bacteria coming into Canada by way of animals, a subject highlighted in a review paper published in Science Translational Medicine last week.
"It's pretty concerning for individuals when they're told that a dog you came in contact with had rabies," said Dr. Tasha Epp, a veterinarian and epidemiologist at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon tracking diseases that can be transmitted between animals and humans.
Epp is among several researchers on the lookout for more dog rabies in North America. The authors of the review paper apply the same principles to other illnesses originating in wild and domestic animals...