Thursday, September 09, 2004, 10:00 EDT (10:00 AM EDT)
CDCHAN-00213-2004-09-09-UPD-S
European-wide Alert About Rabies in France
The European Commission last week issued an urgent notice regarding a European-wide search for people who may have had recent contact with a rabid dog in southwestern France. CDC is providing information about this situation in the event that state and local health departments receive inquiries from persons who may have traveled recently in Europe.
On August 26, laboratory testing at the Pasteur Institute in Paris confirmed that the dog was rabid. The infected dog, a 4-month-old female pup that had been illegally imported into France in July, died on August 21. The rabid animal is thought to have had multiple opportunities to transmit the disease to humans and other animals in southwestern France between August 2 and August 21, according to the European Commission's notice. As of August 31, approximately 300 people (all French) had contacted health authorities about having had possible contact with the rabid dog, and 47 of these persons had been referred for rabies postexposure prophylaxis.
U.S. residents who visited southwestern France (refer to the Eurosurveillance Weekly article below for map) and believe they may have had contact with the infected dog should contact their state or local health department.
Additional information about the situation in Europe is available at the following websites:
· A September 6 press release from the European Commission describing the alert: http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/04/1068&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
· A September 2 description of the case in Eurosurveillance Weekly:
http://www.eurosurveillance.org/ew/2004/040902.asp#1
· A September 1 notice on the website of the World Health Organization: http://www.who.int/csr/don/2004_09_01a/en/
· A French government notice (in French) with photos of the rabid dog: http://www.agriculture.gouv.fr/spip/actualites_a3739.html.
For additional information about rabies, please visit the CDC website at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/rabies/
HAN Message Types
- Health Alert: Conveys the highest level of importance; warrants immediate action or attention. Example: HAN00001
- Health Advisory: Provides important information for a specific incident or situation; may not require immediate action. Example: HAN00316
- Health Update: Provides updated information regarding an incident or situation; unlikely to require immediate action. Example: HAN00309
- Info Service: Provides general information that is not necessarily considered to be of an emergent nature. Example: HAN00319
## This Message was distributed to State and Local Health Officers, Public Information Officers, Epidemiologists and HAN Coordinators as well as Clinician organizations ##
You have received this message based upon the information contained within our emergency notification database. If you have a different or additional e-mail or fax address that you would like us to use, please contact your State-based Health Alert Network program at your State or local health department.
- Content source: CDC Emergency Risk Communication Branch (ERCB), Division of Emergency Operations (DEO), Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response (OPHPR)
Get email updates
To receive email updates about this page, enter your email address:
Contact Us:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Rd
Atlanta, GA 30333 - 800-CDC-INFO
(800-232-4636)
TTY: (888) 232-6348 - Contact CDC-INFO
