Business information

Rabies : Keeping it out

Rabies, a viral disease, which can affect almost all mammals including humans, is a killer.

The disease can be caught when a person is bitten by an infected animal (including other humans), or when saliva enters an open wound. The incubation period can last from a few days to several months, but once the symptoms show, the disease is almost always fatal. The only hope is immunisation during incubation, but this is far from guaranteed to succeed.

Apart from the immediate danger to health, other results of an outbreak would include people near an infected area living in constant fear. In addition, the costs of controlling the disease would be immense.

Positive action in Europe (such as seeding the countryside with inoculated chicken carcasses)has seen a great reduction in reported rabies cases. This, unfortunately, is not a permanent solution and needs repeating regularly, at great cost. There are also parts of the world where Rabies is still endemic. Fortunately Britain has been protected by the natural barrier of the English Channel and by strict animal import laws combined with quarantine restrictions or animal passports.

Under the Animal Health Act 1981, the illegal importation of animals is still an offence and can result in unlimited fines and imprisonment.

Every effort is made to keep out rabies, from publicity campaigns by DEFRA to combat the smuggling of animals, to physical measure in the Channel Tunnel to stop wild animals and strays reaching Britain.

Even though Hertfordshire is without a port, vigilance needs to be maintained. Examples we have dealt with include:

• A cat smuggled in a car into the UK by ferry.
• A cat found stowed away in the back of an HGV lorry.
• A dog smuggled through the Eurotunnel in a car.
• A kitten smuggled through on a ferry in a car.
• Two dogs planed into Heathrow on route to Hertfordshire.
• A French hedgehog accidentally wrapped in camping gear.

Hertfordshire Trading Standards enforces a variety of Animal Health legislation and is responsible for maintaining the County’s rabies contingency plan. This involves declaring an infected place, policing infected areas by setting up compounds for strays and strictly monitoring all animal movements. It may become necessary to destroy animals, especially foxes, which are the most frequent carriers of the disease.