Hunt dogs die of suspected pseudorabies in south of France

Up to 600 hunt dogs are to be vaccinated in the south of France after a suspected outbreak of Aujeszky’s disease led to four dogs being put down.

The suspected cases of the disease, which is also known as pseudorabies, were detected in Ariège (Occitanie) on December 9 and would represent the first cases of the year in the department. 

The disease is not transmissible to humans.

While the diagnosis has yet to be confirmed by laboratory results, the vet who saw the dogs is certain.

"We do not yet have the laboratory results, which can take several weeks, but the dogs displayed all the clinical signs of the illness: a complete change in behaviour with high levels of aggression - that's why it's known as pseudorabies - the dog then starts drooling and scratching,” Dr Vanessa Léro told La Dépêche.

“It is very violent, as if the dogs want to tear their own heads off. The illness inevitably leads to death within four days, with terrible suffering for the animals since it affects their nervous systems.”

The president of the local hunting federation, Jean-Luc Fernandez, told French media that the four dogs were infected on the same hunt. 

“The dogs all bit a wild boar, so all four were infected by the same animal,” he told France 3. “As there is no treatment, the dogs would have died in excruciating pain. They had to be put down immediately to spare them the agony.”

As a precautionary measure, up to 600 dogs are to be vaccinated in the coming weeks. 

There is currently no dedicated vaccine to protect dogs against Aujeszky’s disease, so a vaccine marketed to protect pigs will be used instead, after a special authorisation from the Agence régionale de santé (Regional health agency).

The vaccine for pigs, which requires a booster every six months, is considered to be relatively effective for dogs.

While the disease is rare, there is uncertainty as to how widespread it is in wild boar, which can be asymptomatic carriers.

There have been sporadic outbreaks of Aujeszky's disease in recent years, with the worst coming in April 2020 when almost 100 cases were detected on a pig farm in Allier.

Read more: Dogs die in France from wild boar disease

Nonetheless, Mr Fernandez denied that the cases in Ariège represented a significant outbreak.

“This is not an epidemic, but a case of one wild boar. We kill 10,000 wild boar in Ariège a year and this is the first case.”