A large part of the world has already tackled rabies. However, there are some countries, mainly the developing ones, where this virus is still a current problem. Even nowadays, tens of thousands of people die of rabies every year. Therefore, pet lovers celebrate the World Rabies Day on 28 September.
Rabies are a viral disease of warm-blooded animals; therefore, it also concerns us, humans. It attacks the nervous system and often ends in death. It is transmitted through infected saliva. Most often, it happens because of biting but it can also be transmitted by scratching. The symptoms might show up within several days up to several months. They include the changes in behaviour, aggressiveness and uncontrollable spasms. It always ends in death.
In the Czech Republic, it is considered to be eradicated for 17 years already. However, there is still a risk of its recurrence and the monitoring of this disease is still going on. As part of it, wild animals such as foxes in which the infection is most common are tested. The last detected case of rabies in the Czech Republic comes from 2002 and in this case, it also affected a fox. Among pets, the last case concerned a cat a year before that. We were officially and internationally declared a rabies-free country in 2004.
However, rabies was still common and spread across the whole territory of the Czech Republic in 1980s. It was possible to eradicate it mainly because of oral vaccination of foxes which was intensive between 1989 and 2009. On the World Rabies Day, we shouldn’t forget to mention the name of a Czech scientist, Oldřich Matouch, who, as the only Czech so far, was awarded a prestigious prize by OIE (World Organization for Animal Health) for his services to the veterinary community for the above-mentioned vaccination programme.
Even though this dangerous, fatal disease no longer occurs in the Czech Republic, an obligation to vaccinate not only dogs but also foxes and badgers kept in captivity is still in place. Also, an animal that hurt a person needs to be taken to the vet on the 1st day after the incident and on the 5th day as well. Vets check thousands of animals every year because of that.
Besides the developing countries, rabies is also a current threat in some European countries within the EU. It mainly concerns the countries with large numbers of stray dogs. Due to this reason, the State Veterinary Administration also warns against bringing home homeless dogs of an unknown origin from abroad. It could be easily spread by this again.
The European Commission plans to eradicate rabies across the whole EU until 2030. We can only hope that this plan will work out which is in our interest as well as it the interest of others and it will never come back.
Although it might appear that the cat doesn’t give a tail about you and it is indifferent towards you, maybe you will still find some displays of affection in its behaviour. Do you know how cats show such affection towards a person?
Cats love grass. They nibble at it if it's to clean their belly from hairs or just for fun. In addition, if you get a cat its own flowerpot, you can hope that it will leave your other plants alone :).
Whether you remove a tick from a dog’s or cat’s fur the right way might affect whether the animal will become infected with Lyme disease or another malign disease transmitted by ticks. Have you got the right technique and tools?
Just like with people, also in dogs, Lyme disease is a very grave illness. There are an estimated 20% of ticks infected in the Czech Republic. And because despite the use of antiparasitic agents, your dog might get a tick from time to time, it’s good...
I’ve already written about cat mint, today, we’ll take a look at another, lesser known drugs. Since not all the cats respond to all of them and they don’t respond to everything the same way. Therefore, if you didn’t succeed with cat mint, maybe you’ll...
Every cat owner has certainly already heard of cat mint, catnip or catswort. Under all these names hides a herb that makes most of the cats “high”.
When your family grows by a new (human) member, it isn’t necessarily a happy event for everyone. For many dogs, it’s very difficult to come to terms with such situation, therefore, it’s better to start preparing them already before the baby is born....
I’ve already written about the fact that you’re not supposed to leave your dog closed in a car on summer days or on how to prevent hyperthermia in cats and dogs. So you have mastered the prevention already. But it is also necessary to know how to...
Without a question, chinchillas are beautiful and cute furry animals with large ears, a long tail and distinctive eyes. Do you know where they actually come from, what their name means and that we almost succeeded in nearly exterminating them before...
You have probably noticed that cat tongues are quite unique. They are rough and somehow scratchy. It seemed weird to American biologists and therefore they decided to look deeper into it.
What should I say, the cats are simply different. Since the time immemorial, they have been surrounded by mysteries and secrets. Most of them behave as if they were the master of the world and as if they don’t need the human at all. A couple of...
It can be quite a task to choose the right pet food precisely for your cat. To even understand the contents... That’s why we’re going to take a look today what to focus on, what to look for in the contents and what you should rather avoid.
