We used rabies surveillance data from the Animal Disease Information System of the European Food Safety Commission (https://food.ec.europa.eu/animals/animal-diseases/animal-disease-information-system-adis_en#animal-disease-information) to document rabies case numbers. Since 2021, countries in the European Union have systematically identified RABV isolate strains by using Sanger sequencing of the full-length nucleoprotein (N) gene (1,353-bp) (Appendix 1), according to a method described in 2023 (3).

Our phylogenetic analysis revealed the C variant in Poland in February 2024 and in Romania in August 2024 (Figure 2), although that variant is typically found in eastern Turkey, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Russia (4,5). The number of related C variant cases then increased in Poland through the end of 2024, and we identified a single isolate from Romania in the same year. All other cases for which sequence data were available were the NEE variant.

The C variant includes viruses circulating in the steppe and forest-steppe regions of Russia from near its border with Europe to Tuva Province, as well as in Kazakhstan (5). The phylogeny shows that the C variant is spatially and genetically distinct from the NEE, CE, Eastern Europe (EE), and Western Europe (WE) variants (Appendix 2 Figure).

The NEE variant probably has the largest geographic range because that lineage has been detected in the Baltic region, Romania, Moldova, Poland, and Ukraine (3,5–7) and was the representative variant during the 2022 outbreak in Central Europe (3). The CE variant, initially isolated mainly in west and south Poland, eastern Germany, the Czech Republic, and Slovenia (4), was the variant involved in the 2021 outbreak in Poland (2). The EE variant has been shown to have a similar geographic distribution to the WE variant (Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Croatia, and Hungary) (4), and cases were also detected in northern Macedonia during 2011–2012 (8). The WE variant, previously detected in France, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina (4), was last reported during 2010–2011 (9), and could now be extinct.

A study of the full N gene from isolates collected during 2009–2022 from 13 regions of Russia near the border with Europe found that isolates belonged to variants C or D (10), as previously reported (5). That study also highlighted the predominance of C over D isolates and that variant C apparently replaced variant D in many regions (10). During 2002–2014, variant C was detected in the Baltic region (11), Ukraine (12), and Poland, which had 8 rabies cases along the border with Belarus during 2008–2014 (M. Smreczak, unpub. data). The C variant has not been previously isolated in Romania (13).

Figure 3

Figure 3. Distance from Ukraine and Moldova of cases detected in Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, January 2023–September 2025. Most cases were located <50 km from borders with Ukraine or...

Using information on reported rabies cases, we calculated the distance to the nearest border for cases detected during January 2023–September 2025. Those calculations revealed that most rabies cases in Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia were located <50 km from borders with Ukraine or Moldova (mean 21.8, SD +24.9 km) (Figure 3). That distance appears to have remained unchanged over time, suggesting that the extent of the RABV infection might be stable in the region.

In Europe, the oral vaccination of wildlife reservoirs has proven to be the only effective measure to eliminate rabies (14). Since 2021, Western and Central Europe have experienced rabies challenges in the form of several distinct outbreaks, and the NEE variant has affected several countries at nearly the same time and remains active (2,3). The number of vaccinated regions in Ukraine has been increasing yearly since 2023, from 4 regions in 2023 to 14 in 2024 and 21 in 2025 (15). Although aerial ORV distribution is known to be more effective, manual distribution is used in Moldova and Ukraine because of local constraints. Given the rapid turnover of red fox populations, any interruption in ORV programs, as in Romania, likely will to lead to a drastic decline in vaccination coverage, which could enable RABV to spread more easily. Indeed, Romania reported an endemic human rabies case in 2025 caused by a free-roaming dog, but no endemic human cases had been reported in the European Union since 2012 (https://who-rabies-bulletin.org/news/tragic-human-rabies-case-romania). In 2024, two human rabies cases were notified in Ukraine, and 1 case was reported during the first quarter of 2025 (15). Those recent dramatic cases illustrate the need to redouble awareness and surveillance efforts to evaluate the infected areas and implement adequate ORV programs to avoid silent extension. Biologics can also be used as preventive measures, such as vaccinating humans and domestic species at risk when the reservoir is infected and untreated, or by administering postexposure prophylaxis.

Through close and continuous cooperation between national reference laboratories for rabies and the extensive sequencing of the entire N gene of all rabies isolates since 2021, we detected the C variant and mapped its spread in Central Europe during 2024, reflecting a constant westward infection pressure and a fragile zoonotic situation. The ongoing war in the region is disrupting the organization of human societies and is affecting wildlife through the destruction of habitat and food resources. The effects of armed conflict on the spread of zoonoses, including rabies, should be assessed and given greater consideration. To overcome the worrying setback in rabies elimination in this part of Europe, regular, large-scale, and effective rabies vaccination campaigns need to be maintained and cross-border cooperation between countries needs to be strengthened.