Study flags low rabies titres in many imported dogs

Nearly half of a sample of dogs imported into Ontario had rabies antibody titres below the commonly used 0.5 IU/mL benchmark, according to a University of Guelph-led study highlighted by Scott Weese in Worms & Germs Blog. In the study, 32 of 67 imported dogs, or 48%, fell below that threshold, and 19 of those dogs had no measurable titre at all. The findings add to broader concern about imported dogs as disease sentinels and potential carriers of zoonotic threats, a theme echoed in a 2026 Veterinary Record review that warned imported European dogs can act as “reservoir dogs” for pathogens beyond rabies, including Brucella canis and vector-borne infections. Canada already tightened its rules in 2022, barring commercial dogs from high-risk dog-rabies countries, while the U.S. has also moved to stricter import controls for dogs from high-risk countries. (wormsandgermsblog.com)

Why it matters: For veterinary teams, the message is that an import certificate and vaccine history may not reliably reflect protective immunity. Ontario data suggest imported dogs were much more likely to have low titres than dogs tested for export from within Ontario, and prior imported rabid dogs in Ontario exposed the limits of paperwork-based controls alone. That makes early intake history, scrutiny of foreign vaccine records, prompt revaccination where indicated, and a low threshold to consider zoonotic disease risk especially important when seeing recently imported rescue dogs or dogs with incomplete histories. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)

What to watch: Watch for whether these findings spur more calls for post-import veterinary assessment, titre testing, or tighter harmonized import rules in Canada, the UK, and the U.S. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)