EPIDEMIOLOGY AND ELIMINATION OF RABIES IN WESTERN-EUROPE

In recent years, most of the research on the control of sylvatic rabie s has concentrated on developing methods of oral vaccination of wild r abies vectors. In order to improve both the safety and the stability o f the vaccine used, a recombinant vaccinia virus, which expresses the immunizing glycoprotein of rabies virus (VRG), has been developed and extensively tested in the laboratory as well as in the field. Between 1989 and 1995, several million VRG vaccine doses have been dispersed i n Western Europe for the vaccination of red foxes, leading to the elim ination of sylvatic rabies from large areas, which have consequently b een freed from the need for vaccination. This approach may have conseq uences for the regulation of pet movement within the whole European Un ion.