NRL for Rabies and Control the Effectiveness of the Vaccination (RCEV)

♦ 01 April 2015 ♦  NDRVMI, Sofia, Bulgaria

Rabies laboratory
The Rabies laboratory is a structural unit which is part of the National Center for Animal Health in National Diagnostic Research Veterinary Medical Institute, a specialized structure of the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA). It has been accredited by the Executive Agency “Bulgarian Accreditation Service" according to EN ISO/IEC 17025 standard since 2009. The staff is composed of 3: a veterinarian (Dr. Darinka Ilieva, DVM, PhD), a molecular biologist (Mariya Staleva) and a laboratory assistant (Teodora Mateva). They are trained to perform diagnostic and rabies serological studies in animals. All national studies related to passive and active surveillance of rabies in Bulgaria are undertaken at the NRL for RCEV.

Head of NRL for RCEV
Assoc. Prof. Darinka Ilieva, DVM is a scientist graduated with a PhD in Virology. She has 10-year experience in a private practice with small pets and an 18-year experience as a virologist, including a 6-year experience in rabies.

Epidemiological evolution and history of rabies in Bulgaria
The first case of rabies in Bulgaria was reported in 1896. From 1896 to 1973 rabies appears in the classic form of “street rabies”. Thanks to the efforts made on the one hand, for the limitation of the population of stray dogs, and on the other hand through the domestic dog vaccination campaigns undertaken since 1956,  ”street rabies” have decreased in our country.
These measures have shifted the circulation of rabies virus to wild populations, causing sylvatic rabies. Wildlife mediated rabies was first detected in 1974 in the northern part of the country. From 1979 to 1981, no rabies cases were detected, although still for unknown reasons.
In Europe, including Bulgaria, the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is the main rabies virus reservoir in wildlife.

Rabies control history in dates

1982-1987 Increase of rabies case records. Detection of 203 cases in 173 areas spread on 14 districts (9 in Northern Bulgaria and 5 in Southern Bulgaria).
1988-2014 Detection of 696 cases of rabies in wild and domestic animals in Bulgaria, as follow: foxes: 341 (49%), jackals: 22 (3,2%), dogs: 68 (9,8%), cats: 33 (4,7%), other domestic animals: 210 (30,2%), and other species: 22 (3,1%). These data show that among animal populations, the most receptive specie is fox.
2007-2009 With regard to the complicated epidemic situation, the competent Veterinary Authorities presented to the European Commission an Oral Vaccination (OV) programme for fox for approval and funding.
2009 Significant improvements have been recorded further to the first oral vaccination campaign.
2010 The disease started to clearly decline.
2015 OV of foxes against rabies will be conducted again in the Northern and South-Western territories of Bulgaria, where rabies cases have been last registered. OV of foxes is planned to be implemented for at least 5 consecutive years, but, in case of eradication, it would stop 2 years after the last rabies case.

 

Bat surveillance in Bulgaria
During 2014, in collaboration with our colleagues from the Bulgarian Academy of Science we did a research project for a detailed analysis of the Bulgarian bat populations regarding occurrence and carrying of rabies. This research project requests a financial support and will be undertaken in the future.

Contact
Assoc. Prof. Darinka Ilieva, Ph.D
Head of NRL of Rabies and Control the Effectiveness of the Vaccination
National Diagnostic Research Veterinary Medical Institute
15A Pencho Slaveikov, Blvd.
1606, Sofia - Bulgaria
emd@mail.orbitel.bg
(+359) 877 800 341 - (+359-2) 952 53 06