Estonia Declares Itself Rabies-Free
The Veterinary and Food Board has sent the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) a declaration certifying Estonia to be free of rabies.
Under OIE rules, a country can declare itself rabies-free if it meets the requirements of the Terrestrial Animal Health Code on the disease.
Estonia's case is based on Article 8.10.2 - principally the point that states that no case of indigenously acquired rabies virus infection has been confirmed during the past two years.
The last case was in January 2011, when an infected raccoon dog was found in Värska municipality, a couple kilometers from the Russian border.
The Veterinary and Food Board says it will continue wildlife vaccinations on the borders to prevent the viral disease - nearly invariably fatal in both humans and animals - from being reintroduced.