The Successful Elimination of Sylvatic Rabies Using Oral Vaccination of Foxes in Slovenia

Sylvatic rabies was present in Slovenia between 1973 and 2013, with the red fox as the main reservoir of the rabies virus. The first oral rabies vaccination (ORV) control program in foxes started in 1988, using the manual distribution of baits. Significant improvement of fox vaccination was achieved...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Viruses 2021-03, Vol.13 (3), p.405
Main Authors: Černe, Danijela, Hostnik, Peter, Toplak, Ivan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Administration, Oral
Animals
Cooperation
Data collection
Disease Eradication - methods
Disease Eradication - statistics & numerical data
Epidemiology
Foxes - immunology
Foxes - virology
Genetic diversity
Immunization
Laboratories
oral rabies vaccination (ORV)
Rabies
Rabies - epidemiology
Rabies - prevention & control
Rabies - veterinary
Rabies Vaccines - administration & dosage
Rabies Vaccines - immunology
rabies virus
Rabies virus - genetics
Rabies virus - immunology
Review
RNA, Viral - genetics
Slovenia
Slovenia - epidemiology
Strains (organisms)
Vaccination
Vaccines
Virology
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Summary:Sylvatic rabies was present in Slovenia between 1973 and 2013, with the red fox as the main reservoir of the rabies virus. The first oral rabies vaccination (ORV) control program in foxes started in 1988, using the manual distribution of baits. Significant improvement of fox vaccination was achieved with the aerial distribution of baits, starting in 1995 and successfully finished with the final, fifty-ninth vaccination campaign in 2019. Between 1979 and 2019, a total of 86,471 samples were tested, and 10,975 (12.69%) rabies-positive animals were identified. Within the ORV, two different vaccines were used, containing modified live virus strain Street Alabama Dufferin (SAD) B19 and SAD Bern, while the last ORV campaigns were completed in 2019, with a vaccine containing a genetically modified strain of SPBN GASGAS. Molecular epidemiological studies of 95 rabies-positive samples, originating from red foxes, badgers, cattle, dogs, martens, cats, and horses, revealed a low genetic diversity of circulating strains and high similarity to strains from neighboring countries. During the elimination program, few vaccine-induced rabies cases were detected: three in red foxes and one case in a marten, with no epidemiological relevance. Slovenia has been officially declared a country free of rabies since 2016.
ISSN:1999-4915
1999-4915
DOI:10.3390/v13030405