This past spring, a street dog and her puppy were captured in Cairo, Egypt. Her vaccination certificates were forged, and she was shipped to the United States by an animal rescue organization in a shipment that included seven other dogs and 27 cats. Days later, followingher placement in a Virginian foster home housing several other dogs, this rescue developed the frank signs and symptoms of rabies, and she was quickly euthanized.
Though there are several strains of rabies virus worldwide, the United States has been free from the canine strain of rabies associated with direct dog-to-dog transmission since 2007. In 1944, there were approximately 9,000 rabid dogs in the United States; by 2009, this number had declined to just 79 due to the widespread implementation of the rabies vaccine and successful efforts to control stray dogs (1).
A captured rabid dog. Image: CDC.
