Abstract
Rabies seems to persist throughout most arctic regions, and the northern parts of Norway, Sweden and Finland, is the only part of the Arctic where rabies has not been diagnosed in recent time. The arctic fox is the main host, and the same arctic virus variant seems to infect the arctic fox throughout the range of this species. The epidemiology of rabies seems to have certain common characteristics in arctic regions, but main questions such as the maintenance and spread of the disease remains largely unknown. The virus has spread and initiated new epidemics also in other species such as the red fox and the racoon dog. Large land areas and cold climate complicate the control of the disease, but experimental oral vaccination of arctic foxes has been successful. This article summarises the current knowledge and the typical characteristics of arctic rabies including its distribution and epidemiology.
Highlights
The history of rabies in the Arctic before 1945 is sparsely known
The folklore of the Canadian inuits indicates that these people knew of a rabies-like disease that was transmitted from arctic foxes to dogs and people (Singleton 1969), and in Greenland epidemics among sledge dogs have been described for almost 150 years (Lassen 1962)
Distribution Rabies virus is endemic throughout most parts of the Arctic, and several epidemics have been reported during the last 40-50 years (Raush 1958, Kantorovich 1964, Crandell 1975, Ritter 1981, Holck 1989)
Summary
The history of rabies in the Arctic before 1945 is sparsely known. The folklore of the Canadian inuits indicates that these people knew of a rabies-like disease that was transmitted from arctic foxes to dogs and people (Singleton 1969), and in Greenland epidemics among sledge dogs have been described for almost 150 years (Lassen 1962). After the onset of dog vaccination, rabies has remained mainly as a disease of the arctic fox in these regions. The arctic strain has been isolated from other animal species, such as red fox (Vulpes vulpes), racoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) and skunk (Mephitis mephitis) in sub-arctic areas (Webster et al 1986, Westerling 1989, Selimov et al 1990, Nyberg et al 1992).
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