In accordance with the present mandate, the EC asks the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) i) to update the above-mentioned report and, in particular, to consider if the conclusions and recommendations are still valid; ii) to assess the additional following topics: the new target species (e.g. raccoon dogs), the availability of a new vaccine in the European Union market, the thermostability of the bait casing and the possible impact on stability of the virus strain, and the recent European and international guidelines for rabies surveillance and oral vaccination monitoring.
The following topics are presented and discussed in the present opinion: (i) the rabies aetiology and an update on the phylogeny of the rabies virus and related diagnostic tests; (ii) an update of the occurrence of rabies in animals and humans in Europe up to 2014; (iii) a description of the potential reservoir and transmitter species for sylvatic rabies; (iv) an update on the ecology of foxes and raccoon dogs and the rabies epidemiology in these species, including the interaction dynamics of these two populations; (v) the characteristics of the vaccines available; (vi) the thermostability of the bait casing stability of the virus strain, confirmed by providing the results of experimental studies and the prescriptions of the new version of the European Pharmacopoeia; and (vii) a description of the criteria for rabies surveillance, monitoring of oral vaccination campaigns and the vaccination strategy, in line with the new EC ‘Guidelines to design an EU co-financed programme on eradication and control of rabies in wildlife’.
