Identification of a rabid dog in France illegally introduced from Morocco: comment

As highlighted in the above article by a multidisciplinary investigation team from France, there have been previous reports of dogs being illegally introduced to France and subsequently identified with rabies infection. No human cases related to these events have been identified to date. Although exposure to rabies from animals in the European Union (EU) remains a rare event, in the absence of post-exposure prophylaxis before symptoms rabies is invariably a deadly infection in humans. The French authorities have implemented extensive measures, including the tracing of humans and animals possibly in contact with the suspected rabid dogs, and awareness of the event has been relayed to the general public through the media in order to assist in identifying other possible human or animal contacts.