Regional Veterinary Director for the Western and Western North Regions, Simon Gbene has urged the public to cooperate with the veterinary services towards the vaccination of their dogs.
“Currently, pet owners are not operating. They are not bringing their dogs for vaccination. We need their cooperation,” He said.
Mr Gbene in an interview explained that if infected dogs are sent to veterinary services on time, rabies can be prevented adding that the disease is not curable.
He observes that only a little over 2,000 population of dogs and cats have received vaccination out of about 66,000 population of these pets in the region.
“We have about 66,000 dogs and cats because these are the two animals that can transmit the disease.
This year, we have only vaccinated a little over 2,000, and it’s not even up to 4 per cent. For us to achieve rabies-free in the Western region, we need to vaccinate 70 to 75 per cent of the animals continuously for five years. This is the only way we can prevent rabies,” He said.
To achieve a rabies-free society, about 70 per cent of these pets must be vaccinated.
He reveals that pet owners can face imprisonment or fine as deemed by the court as it is a criminal offence for pet owners to refuse to vaccinate their pets.
Dr Gbene stressed that rabies is an endemic disease in the animal population but it’s a different case in humans.
According to him, the region has recorded no fatalities. This, he attributes to the timely report and treatment of dog bites as well as regular vaccination.
He, however, called for muzzling and caging of dogs.
“In the animal population, rabies is endemic. So far in the Western Region, we’ve not recorded any fatality but the number of people bitten by dogs is 965 people this year. The good news is none of these have come down with rabies,” He mentioned.
