Rabies tests in prohibited zone after sable put down
The HSE is running tests on a number of people in Cork to see if they have detect rabies.
The group came into contact with a sable which had to be put down after it showed signs of being infected with a virus that can cause rabies.
The animal, which is farmed in Russia for its fur, was brought into Ireland as a pet.
As well as monitoring and testing what the Department of Agriculture has described as “a small number of individuals”, a so-called surveillance zone has been established.
All gatherings of dogs, cats, or ferrets are now prohibited in the zone, which is roughly 8km around Riverstick and Ballinhassig in West Cork, between Kinsale and Carrigaline.
Anybody who finds dead mammals in the zone is advised to report the find immediately to the department.
In a statement, department officials said they had “identified evidence of exposure to lyssavirus in a sable which had been imported into Ireland as a pet”.
Lyssaviruses can affect all mammals and this family of viruses includes the rabies virus, they said.
On January 7, the department was made aware that the sable, which has since been put down, was “intermittently displaying atypical behaviour”.
Investigations by the department identified that the animal was kept securely confined at private premises in Co Cork.
There was, they insisted, no evidence of contact with animals outside the household.
“However, the animal was euthanised as the investigation could not rule out rabies infection, in accordance with our emergency preparedness contingency plan,” officials said.
“In parallel, the department liaised closely with both the HSE’s regional Department of Public Health and Health Protection Surveillance Centre.
The HSE has identified, and is following up, a small number of individuals who may have had any potential risk exposure to the animal.
They said initial screening tests by the department’s central veterinary laboratory and the European Reference Laboratory (EURL) in France were negative.
However, on January 23, following further confirmatory test methods, the EURL reported evidence of low levels of lyssavirus genetic material in brain samples from the sable.
“Based on these EURL results, rabies cannot be ruled out in the sable,” the department said. “No contact with any other animals outside the household has been identified.
“Although the likelihood of spread to other animals in the area is extremely low, [the department] is now putting some additional precautionary measures in place in the surveillance zone. These temporary measures will remain in place in for a month subject to review.”
The officials said owners of dogs, cats, and ferrets are advised to monitor the health and behaviour of their animals and report any abnormal or unusual behaviour in their animals to the Department of Agriculture.
Any members of the public in the surveillance zone who require further information can contact the department’s regional office in Cork on 021 4851400.
