Vaccination of foxes against rabies begins on Monday

A two-week campaign to vaccinate foxes against rabies will be conducted in rural areas in Bosnia and Herzegovina, beginning on Monday, 10 October. This was announced at the press conference that was held at the premises of the EU Delegation to BiH, on Friday, in Sarajevo

Johann Hesse, Head of the EU Delegation’s Operations Section for Economic Development, Natural Resources and Infrastructure, said the vaccination campaign is part of the financial support for European Union animal disease control programs in BiH. The campaign will be implemented in partnership with the BiH Veterinary Office.

“The oral vaccination process in BiH follows the practice of EU member states, where rabies has almost been eradicated using this method,” Hesse told journalists. “The EU is funding implementation of similar programs in the Western Balkans because animal diseases such as rabies do not respect borders.”

The European Union has allocated 30 million Euros through national and regional IPA funds in the Western Balkans for control and eradication of animal diseases in the five-year period starting from 2010, Hesse said. 

This is the first year of program implementation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. For the anti-rabies program, and a simultaneous program to fight swine fever, the EU has allocated around six million Euros, he added.

BiH Veterinary Office Director Drago Nedić pointed out that as many as 55,000 people are infected by rabies worldwide every year, with foxes serving as the main “reservoirs” of the disease. The vaccination program will be conducted twice annually since foxes multiply quickly but have short life spans. Humans can be infected with rabies through the bite or saliva of foxes. The disease can also be transmitted to humans by dogs or cats.

“It isn’t possible to vaccinate using needles,” Nedić said, “so the procedure is done orally.  In open areas we put out bait made of fish-meal biscuits with vaccine capsules inside. The vaccine only works on foxes because the dosage is designed for them. The same technique would not work with other animals.”

Nedić added that the vaccine is not harmful to humans, but advised people not to touch the bait if they came across it.

Eight to ten aircraft will distribute 20 to 24 units per square kilometre. The manufacturer of the vaccine is the Czech company Bioveta.

Vaccination began in Serbia and Croatia last year and will begin in Montenegro in the next few days.

Nedić said a successful vaccination program has to go beyond the fox population.

“The oral vaccine for foxes can’t be used for pets such as cats and dogs,” he explained. “The oral vaccine dose is not enough to protect pets from rabies, and that’s why I would remind pet owners that they are legally required to have their pets vaccinated once a year.”

Europa.ba