New CDC Dog Import Policy Focuses Certificate Requirements on Canine Rabies Variant

The Centers for Disease Control is updating its policy of importation of dogs to clarify that no rabies vaccination certificate is required for dogs imported from countries with no or low risk of canine rabies virus variant (CRVV), it said in a notice. Previously, for the purposes of vaccination certificate requirements for dogs, CDC had considered whether a country was at no or low risk for rabies in general, including terrestrial or other rabies virus variants. Limiting that determination to only CRVV better focuses CDC’s efforts and eliminates a situation wherein importers of dogs faced “relatively high costs and burdens” despite the “extremely low risk of importing a dog with CRVV from these CRVV-free or low-risk countries.” Vaccination certificates will still be required for dogs imported from countries that have a high risk of CRVV, as listed by CDC on its website.