European Health Beyond Ecological Borders: Lessons from an Imported Rabies Case in Northern Italy

We read with great interest the recent paper by Salauddin [1], which highlighted the "silent threat" of neglected wildlife diseases and called for an urgent One Health action plan in Bangladesh.The author rightly identified rabies as a persistent zoonotic threat in that setting, where canine rabies remains endemic and cross-species transmission is frequent.Their analysis underscores how ecological connectivity, between wildlife, domestic animals, and humans, perpetuates disease pressure even when control efforts are in place.But what happens when that same ecological connectivity meets a region that has officially eliminated rabies?A recent event in northern Italy offers an instructive answer.On May 27, 2026, veterinary authorities in the Veneto Region of Italy confirmed a case of canine rabies in the municipality of Vittorio Veneto after a mixed-breed dog presented with neurological signs compatible with rabies.Epidemiological investigations revealed that the animal had been illegally introduced into Italy following travel from Morocco, a country where canine rabies remains endemic.Owing to the severity of the clinical condition and the associated public health risk, the dog was euthanised and referred to the National Rabies Reference Centre at the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, which subsequently confirmed rabies and identified Morocco as the origin of the viral strain.