ABSTRACT
Epizootics of rabies-like disease have been recorded in various regions of the far north for over a century. It is now known that rabies is distributed over vast land masses above the Arctic Circle in both the Eastern and Western Hemisphere. The disease has been studied within the Arctic Circle in the nonforested and coastal areas of Greenland, Alaska, Canada, Russia, and in the Svalbard Islands (Figure 1). Rabies is also found in areas surrounding the Arctic Circle, specifically in Alaska and the Northwest Territories (NWT) of Canada. Rabies infections in animals from these regions have been referred to by different authors as Arctic dog disease, rabidity, polar madness, Arctic nervous disease, and fits. Since the virus of rabies was not isolated and identified in the Arctic regions until the middle 1940s, the early natural history of this disease was based upon observations of animal behavior by the natives of the various areas concerned. The early account of epidemics among sled dogs and Arctic foxes in the Canadian Arctic by Elton 1 is most interesting and is recommended for the student of ecology. Likewise, the paper by Rausch 2 on rabies in high boreal regions is suggested for those interested in pursuing the subject of natural history of rabies in wild canidae. The general features of the regions are those described for the polar and tundra areas of the Arctic; the polar area being one of snow, ice, and rock with little or no flora or fauna, and the tundra, a treeless plain with permafrost and considerable flora but limited fauna. Some characteristics common to these areas are low temperature, prolonged darkness and prolonged light, low density of population, restricted transportation, and limited communications. Map of Arctic regions. https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203736371/00fe4a2d-905d-4a99-ae8f-b71c8e512415/content/fig14_1.tif"/>
