학술논문

Oral Vaccination and Population Management Focused on Juvenile Golden Jackals Halts a Rabies Epizootic in Israel.
Document Type
Article
Source
Israel Journal of Veterinary Medicine. Mar2024, Vol. 79 Issue 1, p3-17. 15p.
Subject
*RABIES
*EXTREME weather
*RABIES vaccines
*VACCINATION
*VACCINATION status
Language
Spanish
ISSN
0334-9152
Abstract
Wildlife rabies has been well controlled in Israel due to regular oral rabies vaccine (ORV) campaigns targeting the primary rabies reservoirs, red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and golden jackals (Canis aureus). During 2017, a rabies outbreak was detected in golden jackals in the Jezreel and Hama'ayanot Valleys covering approximately 500 km2 area in Israel's Northern District. From October 2017 to March 2018, 68 of 93 (73%) reported rabies cases were golden jackals and the majority were juveniles of less than 1 year of age. Unusually high jackal population densities in the region (>80 animals/km2), with a large proportion of juveniles born after the autumn ORV campaign, fueled the outbreak to a peak of 19 reported cases during January 2018. Two high-density ORV campaigns (one during October 2017 and another during March 2018) targeted jackal habitat with bait densities up to 200 baits/km2. In addition to routine November and January baiting cycles, additional ORV baits were deployed during the summer months (July-October) to increase bait uptake by the unvaccinated juveniles. Due to an abundance of aquaculture in the area, bait acceptance studies were performed to confirm sufficient vaccine uptake. As high ambient temperatures conditions are common in the outbreak area, thermostability studies were conducted prior to these campaigns to determine whether the vaccinia-vectored recombinant oral vaccine was suitable for use under extreme weather conditions. Geographically and demographically targeted ORV distribution, paired with population control through focused culling, followed by enhanced rabies surveillance and rapid laboratory testing of suspect wildlife cases, contributed to rapid outbreak control by late March 2018. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]