Police asked to investigate import of rabid puppy

Owner visited relatives with new pet

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A puppy infected with rabies, which had been brought to Finland from India, had interacted with many people in Finland before it was put down.
      The woman who brought the infected dog to Finland first brought the pet to visit relatives in Espoo. The family made a report to a veterinarian about the mixed-breed former stray dog.
      Before the veterinarian arrived, the owner took the dog to Huittinen.
      The Espoo City Veterinarian reported the suspect dog to the Finnish Food Safety Authority Evira.
     
The mother of the family in Espoo said that the owner of the dog knew that the pet's papers were not in order. She has sent a request to police in Espoo for an investigation into the matter.
      The Espoo family which had been in contact with the dog took rabies shots as a precaution. A veterinarian put the dog down last week.
     
The dog did not have a certificate of vaccine antibodies. Dogs brought in from India are required to have the necessary vaccines and tests at least three months before travel to Finland. However, the dog in question was just 12 weeks old, and the certificates indicated that the vaccines had been given just two weeks before importation.
      Rabies has an incubation period that can range from a few weeks to six months.
      Liisa Sihvonen, the head of the virology research unit at Evira, was surprised at the test results. "The dog had not shown symptoms of rabies, and it did not come to us with the suspicion of having rabies. We were more than surprised when the tests were positive."
     
Evira always tests for rabies if a dog's papers are not in order and it comes from an area with rabies.
      "The greatest responsibility is with the importer. There is no point in trying to rescue puppies from around the world. It is dangerous for other animals, and can also be dangerous for people", Sihvonen says.
      Finnish customs has also taken the matter very seriously. "If import regulations are not fulfilled, we will investigate how the dog got through. We have already agreed with Evira that refresher training will be given to customs personnel", says Mika Pitkäniemi of the southern customs district.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Rabies diagnosed in dog imported from India to Espoo (15.11.2007)

Helsingin Sanomat