Rabid Foxes Trigger Quarantine In N Romanian County Bistrita-Nasaud

Doctor Ioan Bogolin, the head of the Bistrita-Nasaud Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Department, informed that in 90% of cases reported, the virus was brought about by foxes, but there have also been cases of rabid wolves, cats and dogs.

According to the quoted source, the high number of rabies cases is mainly due to an increase in the number of foxes, as hunters no longer seek them because demand for natural furs has dropped.

The latest case of rabies was registered in Magura Ilvei, where the contaminated animal was a cat that entered a local’s attic, in an attempt to eat some of the ham stored there. The man tried to capture the animal, but was bitten by the animal, which turned out to be rabid. Like in many other localities in the county, the animals in that homestead and the neighboring homesteads (dogs, cats, sheep, cattle and horses) were vaccinated.

In the localities Sangeorzu Nou and Sanmihaiu de Campie there were outbreaks of rabies coming from two foxes. Locations quarantined include Bistrita, where a rabid dog was found.

To prevent the spreading of disease, local authorities bought from the sanitary veterinary authority 3,500 vaccines, in the form of fish sticks for foxes, which they scattered around on hunting grounds.