Rabies in 2005
After Israel was blessed with only a very few cases in 2001 (6 cases) of the disease, due to rabies oral vaccination, in the following years 2002-2003 one has witnessed a sharp rise, this trend continued also this year. This year the disease was diagnosed in 23 localities with 34 cases (21 localities, 28 cases last year). This is a small rise compared to last year but still almost a reduction in half compared to 2003 with 46 localities (69 cases) and 44 localities (64) in the year 2002. In the present year, rabies struck in the Golan region, in the contrary to years 2002-2004 in which it was found in the center of the country until it was decided to vaccinate also in the West Bank. While in 2002-2004 the front of rabies continued each year to another region in which oral vaccination was not performed and kept the same direction, in 2005 it changed.
Rabies cases in 2005
Total / casesDistrict / Locality / bov / badger / wolf / fel / dog / fox / total
Golan / Avnei-Etan / 1 / 1
Odem / 2 / 1 / 3
El-Rom / 1 / 1
Buqata / 3 / 3
Jonatan / 1 / 1
M. Samsh / 2 / 2
Masada / 1 / 1
En-Zivan / 3 / 3
En-Kinya / 2 / 2
Kadmat Tsvi / 1 / 1
Katerin / 1 / 1
Keshet / 1 / 1
Shamir / 1 / 1 / 2
Snir / 3 / 3
Golan / Total / 7 / 1 / 2 / 15 / 25
Hebron / Atniel / 1 / 1
Hebron / Total / 1 / 1
TulKarem / Share-Tiqva / 1 / 1
TulKarem / Total / 1 / 1
Acco / Achihud / 1 / 1
Acco / total / 1 / 1
Afula / Merchavya / 1 / 1
Afula / total / 1 / 1
Tsefat / Dan / 1 / 1
Hazor Galil / 1 / 1
Lehavot Bashan / 1 / 1
Shear-Yeshuv / 2 / 2
Tsefat / total / 5 / 5
grand / total / 9 / 1 / 2 / 1 / 20 / 1 / 34
Rabies cases per year
Year / 2001 / 2002 / 2003 / 2004 / 2005Cases / 6 / 64 / 69 / 28 / 34
Localities / 5 / 44 / 46 / 21 / 23
While in the years 2002-2004 the reason for the appearance of rabies was because the fox and jackals population were not vaccinated, in the year 2005 this cause did not reappear. It became obvious that the oral vaccination among foxes and jackals was very affective. It appeared that most cases of rabies were among dogs that have not been vaccinated with the oral bait vaccination. There is no clear explanation why the stray dogs remained unvaccinated, and among the hypothesis is that dog swallow the bait without chewing them as the foxes and jackals do.
The genetic typing of the rabies in the Golan district was found as a foreign strain, similar to the one found in Syria.
Oral vaccination is performed since 1999, when in 1998 only field trials were conducted. In 1998 the oral rabies vaccine was distributed in Carmiel area of 480 km’, with a follow- up of tests results.
The purpose of the oral vaccination was to vaccinate the target population, and in the case of Israel, the fox population. One hopes to reach through the rabies baits a vaccination rate high enough to break the infecting circle and the disease spread. Because of the nature of fast multiplication and mortality in the fox the population, each half a year one faces a large new young population unvaccinated and exposed to rabies, which is above the raft, enabling a new outbreak of the disease if the oral vaccination baits distribution is not renewed. Maybe a day will come in which the neighboring countries would also anticipate in fighting the disease and it will disappear from the region
M. Van-Ham