The report of rabies in red fox (Vulpes vulpes) in south-west Iran

Document Type : Case report

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

2 Department of Environment, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Provincial Office, Shahrekord, Iran

Abstract

    Rabies, as an endemic fatal zoonotic disease, is transmitted from infected animals to humans commonly through contact (scratches and bites). The present paper provides the first documented evidence of rabies in the red fox (Vulpes vulpes). Signs of rabies disease were found in one red fox in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province. The red fox had aggressive behavior and attacked humans. The animal died after a while. Soon after the death, the samples were taken from the fox’s brain (hypothalamus, cerebellum, and hippocampus). In this report, laboratory evidences of rabies were confirmed by the fluorescent antibody (FAT) and RT-PCR tests in foxes. To prevent and control this deadly disease, suspected cases of rabies in humans and animals should be monitored regularly with a sensitive monitoring system and advanced reporting. This includes the history of exposure, symptoms, clinical examinations, and laboratory results. Rabies can be controlled by vaccination and fast diagnostic tests.

Keywords

References

  1. Blanton, J. D., Palmer, D., Dyer, J., & Rupprecht, C. E. (2011). Rabies surveillance in the United States during 2010. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 239(6), 773-783.

    Bokaei, S., Fayaz, A., Pourmehdi, M., Haghdoost, A., Zolfaghari, M., & Esfandiari, B. (2009). The prevalence of rabies and animal bites in littoral provinces of Caspian Sea, Iranian. Veterinary Journal, 5(1), 5-14.

    1. E. J. Maclachlan N. James, B. S. W., Swayne David E., Winton James R., In: Donald P. Knowles,. (2016). Fenner’s Veterinary Virology, Chapter 18, Rhabdoviridae, Fifth Edition. Academic press.

    Dean DJ, A. M. a. A. P. (1996). The flourescent antibody test. In: Meslin, F.X., Kaplan, M.M., Koprowski, H., editors. Laboratory techniques in rabies. 4th edition. Geneva, WHO.

    Esfandiari, B., Youssefi, M., & Fayaz, A. (2010). The prevalence of rabies and animal bites during 2004 to 2009 in North of Iran. Global Veterinaria, 4(5), 536-538.

    Ghorani, M., Eslami, F., & Jafari, G. (2022). The first case report of rabies in a grey wolf (Canis lupus) in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province (Iran). Veterinary Medicine and Science.

    Goldstein, E. J. (1994). Selected nonsurgical anaerobic infections: therapeutic choices and the effective armamentarium. Clinical infectious diseases, 18(Supplement_4), S273-S279.

    Kilic, B., Unal, B., Semin, S., & Konakci, S. K. (2006). An important public health problem: rabies suspected bites and post-exposure prophylaxis in a health district in Turkey. International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 10(3), 248-254.

    Kissi, B., Badrane, H., Audry, L., Lavenu, A., Tordo, N., Brahimi, M., & Bourhy, H. (1999). Dynamics of rabies virus quasispecies during serial passages in heterologous hosts. Journal of general virology, 80(8), 2041-2050.

    Linnell, J., Andersen, R., Andersone, Z., Balciauskas, L., Blanco, J. C., Boitani, L., Brainerd, S., Breitenmoser, U., Kojola, I., & Liberg, O. (2002). The fear of wolves: A review of wolf attacks on humans.

    OIE. (2008). Manual of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines for Terrestrial Animals, Vol. 1, 6th OIE, Paris

    Ruskin, J. D., Laney, T. J., Wendt, S. V., & Markin, R. S. (1993). Treatment of mammalian bite wounds of the maxillofacial region. Journal of oral and maxillofacial surgery, 51(2), 174-176.

    Simani, S. (2003). Rabies situation in Iran. Journal of Veterinary Research, 58(3), 275-278.

    Türkmen, S., Sahin, A., Gunaydın, M., Tatli, O., Karaca, Y., Turedi, S., & Gunduz, A. (2012). A wild wolf attack and its unfortunate outcome: rabies and death. Wilderness & Environmental Medicine, 23(3), 248-250.

    Y Karimi, A. F., H Teymouri. (1975). Serological data on rabies in foxes studied in Iran. Acta Medica Iranica, 18(3-4), 129-136.

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics