The rabies situation in The Netherlands.

From time to time the Netherlands are confronted with sylvatic rabies. The last time was in December 1986. The distribution of sylvatic rabies is restricted to certain areas: mainly the northeast and the south. Rabies is considered not to be endemic in the Netherlands. Oral vaccination is at the moment not under discussion. Since August 1986 examination on bat rabies has started. In 1987 81 out of 1150 bats were found to be positive. The epidemiology of this type of rabies is still unclear.