In the shadow of covid-19: Towards declaring a rabies-free Croatia

Abstract

One of the strategic goals of the European Union (EU) in the field of animal health is to declare the entire EU territory free of classical terrestrial rabies (caused by the classical rabies virus) by 2020. Thanks to the success of oral vaccination, implemented in Europe since 1978, most countries in Western and Central Europe have been free of rabies since the beginning of the 21st century. The last case of rabies in Croatia was recorded in the spring of 2014, just three years after the start of implementation of the national oral rabies vaccination programme. The logical next step is obtaining the official status of a rabies-free country, and consequently transitioning to a new rabies control policy in the country. However, understanding rabies as a global threat to health, especially given the presence of the virus in bats, constant monitoring is still needed.