The CDC has tightened rabies regulations for imported dogs. Here’s why

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tightened rabies regulations for dogs coming into nan country. The caller regulations, which went into effect August 1, travel arsenic nan impermanent suspension of importing dogs from high-risk rabies areas — instituted by nan CDC successful 2021 — is lifted.

“What it boils down to is that location is further rabies verification that’s required for dogs coming into nan United States from high-risk countries” pinch higher rates of rabies, says Kaitlyn Krebs, a veterinarian astatine nan University of Pennsylvania. It applies to dogs coming from much than 100 countries, including Afghanistan, China, India, Israel, Russia and Zimbabwe.

“These changes are a agelong clip coming,” Krebs says. “It’s important, from a organization wellness standpoint, that these changes are being made, particularly because it is specified a immense quality consequence to person a canine travel into nan state that perchance has rabies that we don’t cognize about.”

Rabies is simply a zoonotic infectious disease, transmitting from animals to humans. In nan United States, about 4,000 cases of animal rabies are reported annually, much than 90 percent of which travel from wildlife specified arsenic bats, racoons, foxes and skunks (SN: 6/12/19). This represents a important displacement from nan mid-1900s, erstwhile home animals specified arsenic dogs contributed to astir rabies cases. According to nan CDC, less than 10 quality deaths from rabies are now reported successful nan United States each year, down from respective 100 successful nan 1960s.

As of 2021, only 5 rabid dogs had been imported from high-risk countries since canine rabies was eliminated from nan United States successful 2007. All but 1 of those cases were due to fraudulent paperwork, which nan caller CDC regulations could address. The different was owed to vaccination failure.

“The U.S. has a very debased level of rabies, and because of nan U.S.-mandated rabies vaccinations for dogs, we don’t often spot our pet dogs travel down pinch rabies,” Krebs says. “So, you besides don’t want to bring a canine successful from a high-risk state if it doesn’t person capable rabies vaccination.”

Prior to nan Aug. 1 regulations, dogs arriving successful nan United States that had not been to high-risk countries were only required to person a recreation history and patient appearance. All dogs that had been successful a high-risk state and were nether six months old, without a microchip aliases without a rabies vaccination history were denied entry.

Now, dogs arriving successful nan United States from countries nan CDC has classified arsenic little rabies consequence require 1 shape for entry, which tin beryllium filled retired by nan importer and does not require rabies vaccination confirmation. Dogs being imported from high-risk countries are divided into those vaccinated successful nan United States and those vaccinated abroad. For nan former, a U.S. Department of Agriculture–certified veterinarian must capable retired nan forms confirming nan rabies vaccination. Foreign-vaccinated dogs require forms endorsed by a authorities veterinarian; arsenic antecedently required, nan dogs besides must person a microchip, look patient and beryllium astatine slightest six months aged astatine nan clip of entry.

Rabies vaccination requirements thief guarantee that canine rabies remains eliminated from nan United States.sestovic/E+/Getty Images

Rabies, which belongs to a group of viruses called lyssaviruses, targets nan body’s tense system. After nan rabies microorganism is transmitted — often done nan saliva successful a wound from an animal — “it whitethorn replicate a small spot successful nan muscle, but past it’s looking for nervus cells,” says Susan Moore, an infectious diseases interrogator astatine nan University of Missouri successful Columbia. The microorganism past “enters your cardinal tense strategy … and past up done nan spine and up into nan brain.”

Once nan rabies microorganism has entered nan brain, it is hidden from nan body’s immune strategy by nan blood-brain barrier. With nary measurement to conflict back, this encephalon infection tin lead to neurological issues, coma and death.

The only measurement to dainty rabies is to person post-exposure curen instantly aft interaction pinch a rabid animal. Treatment involves giving nan infected personification antibodies to “help span nan constituent betwixt nan wound and wherever you commencement vaccinating” nan diligent to stimulate nan body’s expertise to create its ain antibodies, Moore says. This each must hap earlier nan rabies microorganism reaches nan encephalon — which tin return betwixt weeks and months — erstwhile nan antibodies tin still beryllium effective astatine fighting nan microorganism successful nan extremities of nan body.

“Rabies is not a campaigner for eradication,” says Charles Rupprecht, a rabies master based successful Lawrenceville, Ga. “We tin forestall it; we tin power it.” But location are still precocious rates of rabies successful countries astir nan world, and nan consequence remains that it tin beryllium brought into nan United States done infected dogs. “So, these recommendations were put successful spot because it’s nan authorities of our world correct now.”