Public Health England urged to consider risks to veterinary staff

Front-line veterinary staff should receive a pre-exposure rabies vaccination, the BSAVA has said in a letter to Public Health England.

Following changes to the Pet Travel Regulations in January 2012, the small animal veterinary association points out that dogs, cats and ferrets can enter the UK from an EU country without blood testing, just 21 days after vaccination.

In a risk assessment at that time, Defra acknowledged that these changes would increase the risk of rabies entering the UK, but that this risk was still considered to be very low.

However, the BSAVA says that since that time, it has become apparent that these changes have not only led to an increase in the number of animals entering the UK, but that a number of these animals are not fully compliant with the regulations.

It has therefore urged Public Health England to consider reviewing its risk assessment for front-line staff in veterinary practices, including veterinary surgeons, veterinary nurses and receptionists.

Signing the letter on behalf of the association, BSAVA president Professor Michael Day said: "As a result of the current conditions in which veterinary professionals find themselves, BSAVA, in our letter sent on 12 November, has urged Public Health England to consider adding veterinary staff who may come into contact with imported animals to the list of those entitled to receive pre-exposure rabies vaccination."

With increasing expansion in EU member states to include countries such as Bulgaria and Romania in which the disease remains endemic, and sporadic cases still occurring in countries such as Italy and Greece, the BSAVA says that animals imported to the UK from these regions could reintroduce rabies to the UK.

While the association says this is a remote possibility, it is likely that an affected animal would be presented for veterinary treatment, leaving frontline staff at the greatest risk of exposure.

Recently, two puppies imported to the Netherlands from Bulgaria were found to be carrying rabies, which BVA president Robin Hargreaves termed "deeply worrying". More recently, French authorities issued a rabies warning after a kitten died from the disease in October.