US well being officers on Monday introduced a one-year ban on bringing in canines from greater than 100 international locations the place rabies continues to be an issue.
Dogs arriving from these international locations already required proof of rabies vaccination. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mentioned the ban was being imposed due to a rise within the variety of puppies denied entry as a result of they weren’t sufficiently old to be absolutely vaccinated.
The ban is efficient from July 14.
Douglas Kratt, president of the American Veterinary Medical Association, applauded the choice.
“We want to make sure that we are bringing healthy dogs into the country – especially if they are going to be pets,” mentioned Kratt, a veterinarian in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
This restriction applies to canines arriving or returning to the nation, together with pets or canines introduced on the market or adoption. For instance, if an American couple took their canine to Belize, they will be unable to deliver the canine again to the US until the canine has spent the primary six months in a rustic that doesn’t have a excessive danger of rabies.
About a million canines are introduced into the US annually, officers mentioned, and the ban is predicted to use between 4% and seven.5%. Exceptions might be made for sure conditions, together with information canines for the blind or foreigners visiting the US with their pets.
Most of the not too long ago rejected canines got here from solely three international locations, Russia, Ukraine and Colombia. But a number of different denials have prompted the CDC to ban canines from all international locations the place the danger of rabies can be excessive, mentioned CDC rabies professional Emily Pieraki.
Pieraki mentioned lots of the rejections had been as a result of fraudulent paperwork, which claimed the canines had been over 4 months previous. Dogs beneath 4 months of age aren’t allowed inside as a result of rabies vaccines aren’t absolutely efficient earlier than the canine is that age.
Rabies is a deadly illness, often in animals and people, attributable to a virus that assaults the central nervous system. It is often unfold by way of the chunk of an contaminated animal. There isn’t any remedy as soon as signs seem, however it may be prevented by vaccination.
Dogs had been as soon as widespread carriers of the virus within the US however the kind that’s generally transmitted in canines was eradicated within the US by way of vaccination within the Seventies. In 1988, a brand new kind of canine rabies was launched from Mexico. It unfold to wild coyotes and took 19 years to eradicate.
That second wave of instances “highlights the impact that an imported case of rabies can have on wildlife, domestic animals, and people,” Pieracki mentioned.
Demand for canines is believed to have elevated throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, with Americans looking for furry companions, Pieraki mentioned.
But some canine rabies vaccination packages needed to be suspended or canceled throughout the pandemic, making the danger of bringing in a rabid canine increased, she mentioned.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
