EU Issues Rabies Alert to Member States

The European Commission issued rabies alerts to all member states Saturday after an illegally imported puppy in France was reported to be carrying the deadly disease. Brussels took the rare step of telling all EU governments to ensure that citizens recently returned from holiday would be informed of the case. At the moment, French authorities are urgently looking for people, who might have come into contact with the infected animal and instructing them to contact a doctor. The infected four-month-old dog was found in southwest France -- it had been in Bordeaux and at a number of festivals in the Dordogne and Gironde, and in the regions of Lot and Garonne. (EUobserver.com)