The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, on Monday urged dog owners to vaccinate their pets against rabies yearly as part of the efforts to prevent the spread of the deadly disease.
This call was made during a sensitisation programme as part of activities lined up for this year’s World Rabies Day on September 28 under One Health Approach with the theme, “All for 1, One Health For All”.
Rabies, a zoonotic disease, can be transmitted to humans through infected dog bites. The symptoms of this deadly disease include fever, headache, agitation, confusion, hallucinations, paralysis and even death.
Rabies can be prevented by vaccinating animals and humans, but when the symptoms manifest, there is no cure.
At a roadshow in Abuja to create awareness of the disease, the Director, of Veterinary Public Health, Federal Department of Veterinary and Pest Control Services, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr Samuel Anzaku, told residents to adopt preventive measures against rabies through the annual humans and dogs vaccination.
He advocated for controlling stray dogs, one of the main sources of rabies transmission to humans.
“We are here on a road walk to sensitise people that they must take preventive measures to vaccinate their dogs annually at veterinary clinics or hospitals. Secondly, to report any case of dog bite in any community, to the appropriate veterinary clinic.
“If you don’t do this, once a human has a dog bite from an infected dog, and there’s no treatment, 100 percent you’re sure the person is going to die if clinical signs have started showing up. So we’re here to tell Nigeria is a disease that is very deadly”, he said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that at least 70 per cent of the dog population should be vaccinated to eliminate rabies.
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