Rabies outbreak jumps species in Taiwan

Pet owners in Taiwan were rushing to inoculate their animals on Wednesday, July 31, after the first case of rabies in a shrew was confirmed, fueling fears that an outbreak of the disease is spreading between species. Health authorities on the island have been battling to contain a rabies outbreak among so-called ferret-badgers, with at least 18 cases among the weasel-like animals confirmed so far. On Wednesday officials confirmed the disease had spread to a shrew, fueling fears that it could mutate further to affect domestic pets – greatly increasing the risk to humans. Taiwan is now listed as a rabies-affected area by the Paris-headquartered World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) after the island confirmed its first outbreak since 1959 on July 17. The Taipei city government has set up a contingent unit tasked with monitoring rabies outbreaks, with plans to purchase more than 50,000 doses of vaccines before the end of August.

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