SURVEILLANCE AND PROPHYLAXIS OF ANIMAL RA BIES IN THE WORLD

The author examines in turn methods and results for surveillance and c ontrol of rabies in animals. Surveillance is essentially carried out b y collecting laboratory results from diagnoses of rabies in animals th rough direct immunofluorescence in the sample or after mouse inoculati on or inoculation in cell cultures. Due to technical and financial con straints, the results collected are usually insufficient in number; pa rticularly in developing countries. Surveillance of rabies is thus oft en based on data obtained from a non-target species (human beings). Di sease prophylaxis varies according to whether rabies is found in wildl ife or domestic animals. In both cases, there is at present a tendency to abandon methods of sanitary prophylaxis by reducing the number of vector-animals (fox, stray dogs, cats, bats, etc.), and instead to int roduce medical prophylaxis by preventive vaccination. As a result oral vaccination has already given spectacular results in the fight agains t rabies in foxes, and could also be used for dogs. The author specifi es the conditions for applying this vaccination.