Rabies in Morocco: protecting your dog and your family

Rabies is one of the few diseases that still kills people in Morocco every year. Yet it is entirely preventable: a vaccinated dog doesn’t pass it on, and a person bitten who receives the right care doesn’t develop it. Every dog owner should know these few facts, to protect their animal, their family and their neighbours.

What is rabies?

Rabies is a viral disease that attacks the nervous system of mammals, humans included. The virus is present in the saliva of a sick animal and is spread almost always by a bite, more rarely by a scratch or by licking a wound or mucous membrane.

Once in the body, the virus travels slowly along the nerves to the brain. This incubation usually lasts from a few weeks to a few months. As long as symptoms haven’t appeared, treatment prevents the disease. Once they appear, it is too late: rabies, once it develops, is fatal, in animals and in humans.

The situation in Morocco

Morocco is not free of rabies. The disease circulates mainly in dogs, and animal cases are reported every year in several regions. In humans, there are on average around twenty deaths a year, and in the great majority of cases the infection comes from a dog bite. Children are the most affected, because they get closer to animals and don’t always report a bite.

Health authorities estimate that the disease could be practically eliminated if around seventy per cent of dogs were vaccinated. Vaccinating your dog is therefore not only an individual act: it is a direct contribution to public health.

Vaccination is mandatory

In Morocco, rabies vaccination of dogs is mandatory. It is given from the age of three months, and a booster is needed every year. The vaccine is effective, well tolerated and inexpensive.

The vet records the vaccination in the health record and gives you a certificate. Keep these documents: you will be asked for them for travel, to put your dog in a kennel and, above all, if your dog bites someone.

Free campaigns

ONSSA, the National Office for Food Safety, runs free rabies vaccination campaigns every year, in rural areas and, in some years, with private vets in towns. Ask your vet, your commune or the provincial veterinary services for the dates in your region.

Recognising a suspect animal

Rabies shows itself in two forms.

• The furious form: the animal’s behaviour changes suddenly, it becomes restless and aggressive, and bites anything within reach, even objects. It drools heavily, its voice changes, and it may wander far from home.
• The paralytic form, more deceptive: the animal is dull, its jaw hangs, it can no longer swallow and seems to have something stuck in its throat. Many infections happen when someone tries to examine its mouth.

Any dog whose character suddenly changes, a shy dog that becomes familiar or a gentle one that becomes aggressive, should be considered suspect. The same goes for a wild or stray animal that lets you approach without fear.

What to do after a bite

These steps are to be known by heart and taught to children.

1. Wash the wound immediately with soap and water for fifteen minutes. This simple step removes much of the virus and greatly cuts the risk.
2. Disinfect with an antiseptic, without closing the wound.
3. Go without delay to the anti-rabies centre, the commune hygiene office or the nearest health centre. Post-exposure preventive treatment, a series of vaccines sometimes with immunoglobulins, is very effective if started quickly.
4. Identify the animal if possible: who does it belong to, is it vaccinated, where can it be found?
5. Don’t kill the animal. Alive, it can be placed under veterinary observation; if it stays healthy through the observation period, that shows it wasn’t contagious at the time of the bite.

A scratch, a light bite that barely bled or a lick on a wound should be taken just as seriously. Don’t trust traditional remedies: only the medical protocol protects.

If your dog has bitten someone

Even if vaccinated, a dog that has bitten must be taken to a vet and kept under observation for about a fortnight, with several check visits. This is an obligation, and also what lets you reassure the person bitten.

Show the vaccination record, give the person your contact details and don’t part with the dog during the observation period. As owner, you are responsible for the harm your animal causes; our article dogs and the law in Morocco covers this.

If your dog has been bitten

A dog bitten by a stray or unknown animal should see a vet quickly, even if the wound looks minor. If it is properly vaccinated, a booster and monitoring are generally enough. If it isn’t, the situation is much more serious, and the vet will tell you the course required by the regulations.

That is the most concrete reason to keep boosters up to date: a booster a few months late can complicate everything the day a bite occurs.

Protecting your dog day to day

• Vaccinate it at three months, then every year, without letting the date slip.
• Don’t let it roam: a dog that wanders meets stray dogs.
• Keep it on a lead in areas where unsupervised dogs roam.
• Stop it going near a dead animal or one behaving strangely.
• Have the household cats vaccinated too.

Teaching children the right reflexes

Children are the first victims of bites. Explain to them, in simple words:

• we don’t approach a dog we don’t know, and we don’t stroke it without asking;
• we don’t disturb a dog that is eating, sleeping or looking after its puppies;
• we don’t run or shout around a dog: we stand still, arms by our sides;
• we always tell an adult after a bite or a scratch, even a small one, even if we are afraid of being told off.

Rabies and travel

Because Morocco is a country where rabies is present, entry conditions for many countries are strict for dogs coming from here: microchip identification, a valid rabies vaccination and, for the European Union, an antibody test at an approved laboratory several months before departure. These steps need planning long in advance; they are covered in our article travelling with your dog.

Key takeaways

Rabies still kills, but it is one hundred per cent preventable. Vaccinate your dog at three months then every year, keep its record, and remember the reflex after a bite: wash for fifteen minutes with soap and water, then consult immediately. To bring your dog’s schedule up to date, book with a vet and see our guide to vaccines and deworming.