Rabies: Adıyaman village in quarantine

ADIYAMAN – Anadolu Agency

Cihan Photo

A village in southeastern Turkey has been declared quarantine for six months over suspicion of rabies.

Bozhöyük, a village in the southeastern province of Adıyaman, was quarantined on May 25, after 19-year-old Elif Karataş, a Bozhöyük resident, was bit by a dog infected with rabies.

Karataş was taken to the Adıyaman University Education and Research Hospital following the dog bite; the dog was killed by local residents after it attacked a cow.

The rabies virus was detected in a sample taken from the dog’s corpse by the Food, Agriculture and Livestock Provincial Directorate in Adıyaman.

The directorate’s head, Adil Alan, during a press briefing later on May 25, said cats and dogs in and around the village had been inoculated with the rabies vaccine, while two roosters, two dogs and the injured cow which may have contracted the virus had been euthanized. 

“We have held trainings for both residents and school-aged children on rabies. The village will be in quarantine for six months. So village entry and exit of animals will not be allowed for six months,” he said, adding that Karataş was in good condition and she would be continuously monitored.