The re-emergence of rabies in Central Europe is cause for concern

The first resurgence of rabies cases in the EU occurred in Poland in 2021. Up to then, fewer than 10 infected animals had been reported each year, but in 2021 the number rose to 113, including 103 in wildlife – mainly foxes – and 10 in domestic animals. 

A second major increase in the number of rabies cases affected Romania, Hungary and Slovakia in 2022, whereas Hungary and Slovakia had not detected any cases for several years. Since then, the virus has continued to circulate, with several dozen cases being recorded in some years and as many as 109 cases identified in Romania alone in 2025.

Tracing the origins of rabies virus strains

ANSES’s Nancy Laboratory for Rabies and Wildlife (LRFSN) is the European Union Reference Laboratory (EURL) for rabies. Thanks to the sharing of virus sequences and samples among affected countries, detailed genetic analyses were conducted across the European Union. 

In addition to samples from the four affected EU countries, the Agency has also received specimens from Ukraine and Moldova. By pooling these data, scientists have been able to track the circulation of the virus strains. These findings were published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases in February 2026.

This work led to the detection of the group C rabies variant in Poland and Romania in 2024. This variant of the rabies virus, which had not been detected in the EU for around a decade, is typically found in southern Russia, near Kazakhstan, and in eastern Turkey. 

A recent publication by a team of Russian researchers reported that this variant has been spreading northwards within Russia, which is consistent with its arrival in the European Union. This strain is now circulating alongside the NEE variant, which has been present in Central Europe since the 1990s.

Animal health affected by the geopolitical context

Most of the rabies cases detected in the EU have been located, on average, within 50 kilometres of the borders with Ukraine and Moldova. “The resurgence of rabies in Europe illustrates the impact of armed conflict on health and wildlife”, affirms Emmanuelle Robardet, Director of the EURL. “The virus was already circulating in Ukraine before the war, but we know that the number of cases has increased since then. It’s likely that efforts to monitor and control the disease have been severely disrupted. For example, the vaccination of wildlife, which normally relies on aircraft dropping vaccine baits, has been suspended or is carried out by hand instead, making it far more difficult”. 

It is also possible that wildlife has been affected by the conflict, through the destruction of habitats and food sources, which can force animals to move into new areas and spread the virus with them. 

Vaccinating foxes is the most effective means of prevention

The spread of the virus now appears to be under control in Poland, Hungary and Slovakia, thanks to the vaccination of red foxes. 

Romania, however, has suspended its vaccination programme. “Rabies virus is primarily transmitted through bites and mainly circulates among wildlife, but it can infect any mammal, including humans”, explains Evelyne Picard-Meyer, a project manager in molecular virology at the LRFSN. “Without vaccination programmes, the rabies virus is likely to continue spreading among red foxes, increasing the risk of infection in humans”. 

Anyone exposed to an infected animal should get vaccinated as soon as possible, since in humans death is inevitable once the first clinical signs appear. 

In 2025, a man died of rabies in Romania after being bitten by a stray dog. This was the first human death from rabies transmitted by a land animal in the EU since 2012. 

International cooperation is essential to safeguard the progress made towards eliminating rabies in Europe.