Veterinary officer appeals for support towards mass dog immunization campaign

The Municipal Veterinary Officer in Aowin, Selorm Debrah, has appealed to philanthropists and benevolent organizations to assist or sponsor the mass dog immunization campaign to help eradicate the rabies disease by the year 2030.

He said “though the disease is fatal, it is also 100 per cent preventable. Once you vaccinate; people would be safe when bitten, the animal vaccine is always and almost available at the cheapest cost.”

Selorm Debrah made the appeal at the Enchi College of Education when the Veterinary Service Department (VSD) organized a talk on rabies and its effects on human health for the students.

The programme formed part of activities to celebrate the World Rabies Day, which falls on September 28 every year.

“Breaking Rabies Boundaries”, was the theme for this year.

He said rabies is a viral zoonotic disease caused by a neurotropic virus of the family Rhabdoviridae genus Lyssa, a sub-group virus that caused progressive and fatal inflammation of the brain and the spinal cord.

He explained that clinically, rabies has two forms, furious rabies which is characterized by hyperactivity and hallucination and paralytic rabies leads to paralysis and coma.

According to him, “Rabies affect all warm-blooded animals and the disease is prevalent mostly in developing countries in Asia and Africa of which Ghana is no exception. Rabies remains one of the most important zoonotic diseases with the case fatality approximately 100 per cent.”

Selorm Debrah reminded the students that bite from domestic dogs constituted the major mode of rabies transmission and disproportionately affects the poorest communities, and that there was the need to cooperate with the VSD for pets to be vaccinated.

He advised the students to educate their parents and friends to vaccinate their dogs, cats, and monkeys at age 12 weeks and beyond regularly, stressing that rabies cases were 100 per cent fatal, and that they should not hesitate to report any animal bite to the nearest health facility for immediate medical attention and investigation.

He urged persons bitten by dogs and other animals to wash the affected area right away with soap under running water for 20 minutes and apply sanitizer to reduce the viral load contained in the infested animal’s saliva from entering deep into the nerves after which the person would seek medical attention.

Selorm Debrah said “Comprehensive guidelines for control of rabies in dogs have been prepared by the World Health Organization which include: the Notification of the suspected cases, Destruction of dogs with clinic signs and dogs bitten by suspected rabid animal, Mass immunization of dogs by campaigns and Continuing vaccinations of young dogs, Stray animal control, Destruction of unvaccinated animals and Dog registration.”

Dr Emmanuel Addom Ashun, Vice Principal of the College, noted that to prevent rabies disease, it was critical to avoid contact with wild animals especially if they seem sick or aggressive. “ If you are bitten by animal, no matter how small, it is important to seek medical attention immediately.

“Remember prevention is the key. By understanding the risk and taking the necessary precautions, we can protect ourselves and community from the devastating effects of rabies.

“The value of the rabies education given today has three dimensions of benefits. It will promote prevention of the disease, the knowledge acquired would be shared with family members and finally the cost of management if affected is also saved,” Dr Ashun added.

He said’ the College was privileged to have such a comprehensive, and interactive session and would expect more and other educations from the VSD.