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Rabies raises its head in the north, but veterinarians warn: "There is no comprehensive treatment for the issue"

Since the beginning of the year, 22 cases of rabies have been counted in Israel, with many of the cases not detected at all. "If the attacking animal was not caught, then the case did not appear to have occurred," a veterinarian explained. Most cases are discovered near the border areas, but the lack of coordination between the authorities makes it difficult to formulate a comprehensive solution.

• rabies
• wild animals
• Upper Galilee
• Jackals
• Foxes

Eli Ashkenazi

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Since last Saturday, the image of the jackal leaping on Susie Castiel and holding her leg has not let go of her memory. It happened while she and her husband were shopping and were on their way to meet family for a picnic in the Banias River in the Upper Galilee. "As soon as I got out of the car the jackal jumped on me," she repeated. "At first I thought it was a small dog, but then I noticed it was a donkey. I was holding a bag with bottles in my hand and started punching him and he left me."

"The jackal looks just like a rag, I was under the impression that he was sick and already dying," Castiel added. "The image of his head on my leg does not leave me, since it happened it is hard for me to fall asleep." She acted as required and immediately went to the clinic in Kiryat Shmona, from where she was sent to Ziv Hospital in Safed to receive a rabies vaccine, and later this week she received another series of injections.

This bite case joins other recent cases in the Upper Galilee and the Western Galilee; Two weeks ago, a stray dog ​​infected with rabies attacked and bit three IDF soldiers at the Biranit base. Then he also tried to attack the catcher who caught him. Shortly afterwards, Let tried to attack a family in Nahal Kziv and apparently there were several more attempts to attack jackals in the area.

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Since the beginning of the year, 22 cases of rabies have been counted in Israel. All the cases were located in the Upper and Western Galilee - from Snir, Kfar Szold and Shamir in the east to Kibbutz Saar and Moshav Leiman in the west. This is a significant increase in the number of cases compared to last year; In 2019 there were only 17 reported cases of rabies, even then they were all detected in the north of the country.

The veterinarian of the cluster of local authorities in the Eastern Galilee, Dr. Roy Davidson, believes that the real picture is even worse: "As in the case of the bite on Saturday and the case in Nahal Kaziv, there are quite a few 'transparent events'. In other words, incidents that are not counted as cases of rabies, although there is no doubt that the animals that attacked were infected with rabies. "

More on Walla! NEWS

Two years after the big outbreak, the Galilee fears the return of rabies

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In the records of the veterinary services of the Ministry of Agriculture a case of rabies entered the list only after the suspected animal of rabies was caught, sent for examination in the rabies laboratory of the Veterinary Institute, and the test revealed that the suspected animal was indeed infected with rabies. Therefore, even if the behavior of the attacking animal - usually jackals or dogs - is typical of an infected animal, it will not count towards the rabies cases unless it is caught. "If the attacking animal was not caught, then the incident did not appear to have occurred," Dr. Davidson explained. "It creates an unreal picture, which is necessary for the subject to receive the appropriate reference."

Rabies is an incurable disease caused by a virus. From the moment the first clinical signs appear in humans or animals, it is not possible to save the patient and death is certain. The rabies virus infects all mammals and is transmitted through saliva, mainly through a bite. The disease can be prevented in animals with a vaccine given in advance, and in humans through a series of vaccine injections given after exposure to the virus and protecting against the development of the disease.

The year 2002 was the last time a female dog died in Israel. Before that, in 1997, three people died in Israel from rabies, one of them a soldier. Most cases of rabies are detected near border areas. The State of Israel is surrounded by countries where the disease does not receive treatment and prevention from the authorities, both within the framework of domestic animals and within the framework of wild animals.

The source of the outbreak is due to the constant infestation of rabies by wildlife from neighboring countries: Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. Three years ago, when most cases of bitches were discovered in the Springs Valley and Gilboa, infected jackals arrived from Jordan. The infected animals are now arriving from Lebanon.

"Entered from the countries of the region"

Dr. Amit Dolev, an ecologist for the Northern District of the Nature and Parks Authority, explained that "Israel is in a large sea that is constantly experiencing waves of disease. The disease has no borders and it moves in waves that sometimes come from Syria, sometimes from Jordan and sometimes from Lebanon. The current wave is coming from Lebanon. "

According to Dolev," Over the years, the countries around us have not treated rabies, and there has always been an influx of rabies animals into Israel. " The entry of wild animals from the Syrian border almost stopped even due to the new system fence that Israel built along the border. The system fence with Lebanon is more permeable to animals moving from side to side.

Because unlike neighboring countries the disease does not exist autonomously in Israel, the main component will decide Will the disease be able to spread within the country and survive within it or will it die out is the density of wildlife populations - especially jackals and foxes.

Dolev said the main factor that helps the various wildlife populations thrive is the availability of food. "There is always an infiltration of animals into Israel. The problem is that here there is food that sustains them: near chicken coops or when there is poor sanitation and farm and grazing animal carcasses are thrown away or remain in the field, or there are unregulated garbage sites and more."

"An animal with rabies is estimated to survive between four days and a week, during which it must meet other animals to transmit the disease. If it meets another animal, then the disease continues to progress and if not the infected animal dies and the spread of the disease stops." He stressed that not only are the amounts of organic garbage around the communities a food source that allows the wildlife population to thrive, "the food left in the field after a picnic or left outside the trash cans inside the communities will be enough to survive."

"It could also be a sandwich or leftover meat left in the field, even food for the pets left outside the house will suffice for them," Dolev continued. "For the animals it is an addition of fuel and it gives them another boost to exist and thus increases the chance that the chain of encounters between the animals will continue and you too the rabies."

"No serious treatment"

Davidson explained that on this issue there is a problem of crisis management. "There is no comprehensive treatment of the important issue of waste disposal in open areas and alongside localities. This must be addressed, in the connection between the Ministries of Agriculture, Environmental Protection and local authorities. At the moment this is not happening," he claimed. He reiterated his claim that the true extent of the disease was partially obscured, due to disregard for the "transparent" rabies cases. He clarified that "when the problem is not seen in its full severity, it also does not receive the full attention and treatment it needs, like serious and in-depth treatment of dumping animal waste."

Castiel has not yet finished receiving the series of necessary vaccines against rabies, after encountering the attacking jackal. She also returned to her job as a photographer for family reunion albums, but admits she is still afraid to return to Banias, she also asked to postpone photos of a Bar Mitzvah groom and planned to shoot in the creek. "I've been away from the stream for a while that I love so much, and it's clear to me that I'll be back to it soon. I hope I do not go through such an experience again," she said.

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