Guest guest Posted December 30, 2002 Report Share Posted December 30, 2002 http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20021229wo36.htm Ministry issues rabies alert: Officials fear fishermen's dogs may reintroduce disease Yomiuri Shimbun The government has taken the unusual step of telling prefectural governments to prevent the spread of rabies by dogs that have not been quarantined before entering the country from Russian ships, sources said Friday. The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry has compiled a six-point counter-rabies blueprint for all 47 prefectural governments, including instructions to stop dogs on foreign vessels from disembarking illegally, to capture stray dogs, and to provide specific medical treatment for victims bitten by stray dogs, the sources said. Many physicians in the country are reportedly unfamiliar with rabies treatment. The ministry apparently has been alarmed by the growing likelihood that dogs possibly infected with rabies may have escaped the legally required quarantine process and landed from foreign-registered vessels at ports nationwide, observers said. No cases of rabies, which is communicated by mammals and can be fatal for humans not vaccinated against it, have been reported in the country since 1957. However, the World Health Organization says that 35,000 to 50,000 people succumb to rabies in other parts of the world every year. No cure has been discovered for rabies, typical symptoms in humans of which include hydrophobia and respiratory difficulty. Victims usually die within several days after developing symptoms. According to the ministry and other concerned authorities, the number of Russian-registered vessels arriving in Japanese ports in 2000 was about 8,200. While those docking at Wakkanai, Hanasaki and Otaru ports in Hokkaido and Fushiki-Toyama port in Toyama Prefecture accounted for about 80 percent, a number of Russian vessels also entered ports in Chiba and Yokohama. The Rabies Prevention Law prohibits the entry into the country of dogs that do not undergo quarantine. At Wakkanai port--where the largest number of Russian vessels docked in 2000, about 3,700--the Wakkanai public health center has confirmed that 230 dogs went ashore from such vessels between 1998 and 2000 without being quarantined. In May, a customs official who boarded a Russian ship at Hanasaki Port in Nemuro, eastern Hokkaido, was bitten on a foot by a dog kept aboard by Russian fishermen. Fortunately, the official did not suffer any injuries as his shoe protected his foot. However, the dog ran ashore at the port and fled. In the case of Fushiki-Toyama Port, a local veterinarians' association has reported to the Toyama prefectural government that local residents had bought or bartered goods for Russian fishermen's dogs nine times in the five years up to last year. A survey mainly conducted by a ministry study group headed by a senior veterinary researcher at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases has found that about 60 percent of Russian fishing boats carry dogs as traditional good-luck mascots. Some alarming facts have surfaced. Every year, for example, at least 10 dogs are infected by rabies in coastal areas of the Russian Far East, where the home ports of many Russian fishing boats are located. In addition, only about 25 percent of Russian dogs registered with the proper authorities reportedly are vaccinated against rabies. The situation is also disturbing on the domestic front. Under the Rabies Prevention Law, each dog owner is required to register canine pets with local governments and have them vaccinated against rabies once a year. In fiscal 2000, about 5.78 million dogs were registered nationwide, of which about 4.61 million, about 80 percent, received antirabies vaccinations. In reality, however, a far greater number of dogs are unregistered. According to a survey by an industrial association of pet-food manufacturers, about 10.05 million dogs were kept in 2000. Calculations based on the vaccination ratio of the registered dogs, reveal that more than 50 percent of the dogs were not vaccinated that year. In response to such findings, the ministry has mapped out the counter-rabies blueprint with the cooperation of the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry, which has jurisdiction over animal quarantines. Copyright 2002 The Yomiuri Shimbun Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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