Bovine rabies in Greece in 2013

• Published in: Veterinary record Vol. 177; no. 23; p. 598
• Main Authors: Tasioudi, K. E., Korou, L. M., Iliadou, P., Agianniotaki, E. I., Kostoglou, P., Tzani, M., Anastasiadis, I., Athanasiadis, I., Doudounakis, S., Mangana-Vougiouka, O.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BMJ Publishing Group Limited 12-12-2015; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: Animals; Cattle; Cattle Diseases - epidemiology; Disease prevention; Foxes; Greece - epidemiology; Immunization; Laboratories; Milk; Rabies; Rabies - epidemiology; Rabies - veterinary; RNA viruses; RT‐PCR techniques; Sentinel Surveillance - veterinary; Surveillance; Veterinarians; Greece; RNA viruses; RT-PCR techniques; Cattle; Rabies
• ISSN: 0042-4900; 2042-7670
• DOI: 10.1136/vr.103434

Furthermore, oral rabies vaccination (ORV) campaigns are being carried out since autumn 2013 followed by active surveillance programme. [...]October 2015, in the framework of the passive surveillance of the disease, a total of 48 rabid animals have been confirmed by the National Reference Laboratory for Rabies in animals (NRL), which is the Virology Laboratory in Athens Veterinary Center. [...]taking into account the relatively long incubation period of rabies in cows (>15 days, on average 30-60 days) ( Hudson and others 1996 , Aytekin and Mamak 2009 ) and the short time period before the appearance of clinical disease in which a cow can excrete RABV with saliva (<10 days), the authors could hypothesise that there was no horizontal transmission between the two cows since the second died only a few days after the first. [...]the authors assumed that the two animals were infected during the same period.