Volume 61 (2011) Issue: 2011 No#2-3

Maintenance and control of the vaccination belt along neighbouring rabies infected area

Author(s): Hostnik P, Rihtarič Danijela, Grom J, Malovrh T, Toplak I

Keywords:control, oral vaccination, rabies

The program of oral vaccination of wildlife started in 1988 in Slovenia and is based on our own, as well as experiences of other countries. Red foxes are the main reservoir of rabies in Slovenia. When the oral vaccination program had started on the whole territory of Slovenia in the year 1995, 1089 (28.75%) of tested animals were detected positive among wild and domestic animals. Four years later only 6 (0.5%) positive cases were detected among 1195 tested animals. The number of positive cases has been increasing again in 2001 to 135 cases. Between 2002 and 2008 the vaccination was been done only in the protection zone, i.e. 30 to 50 km wide belt along southern border with Croatia because no new rabies cases were found in the north-west region of Slovenia. When rabies was reintroduced in Italy in 2008 the vaccination is carried out again on the whole territory of Slovenia. To improve the vaccination campaign the stability of two vaccines was measured over 8 weeks. In both vaccines the drop of the virus titre was highest when baits were placed on sunlight, but in the shadow the virus was detected until 53 days of observation. The aim of this study is to summarise the current rabies status and to look for the best solutions in the vaccination campaign to come.