DTSG Commences Free Vaccination Of Cats, Dogs, Others Against Rabies

By Grace Eshedagho

To commemorate the 2021 annual Anti-Rabies Awareness and Immunization Day, the Delta State Government (DTSG) has flagged off a 12-week free vaccination of all cats, dogs and other pets in the state.

Speaking during the flag off of the exercise at the Veterinary Clinic in Asaba, the state capital, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr Ben Agamah, said that the state government was committed to ensuring that pets, such as dogs and cats, were free from the highly contagious and zoologic disease.

Egbedi said that since 2015 when the Okowa Administration came on board, the advocacy had remained free of charge, adding that the attention of the public had been drawn to the public health risk of rabies and the need for hygienic and decent accommodation as well as humane treatment of pets as measures of preventing the spread of zoologic diseases, such as hydatidosis, toxoplasmosis, hepatitis and others in pets.

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While speaking on the dangers of the disease, he said it was right for the public, particularly owners of the pets, to take advantage of the free vaccination to get their pet vaccinated from being infected.

The commissioner advised Deltans to take seriously cases of dog bite and report immediately to the nearest veterinary clinic or medical centre for proper investigation and treatment.

According to him, the flag off of the sensitisation exercise was being simultaneously done in all the 25 Local Government areas of the state.

Also speaking, the Director of Veterinary Services, Dr Charles Diai, said that routine annual prophylactic vaccination of pets was the best remedy to prevent rabies in dogs and other pets.

Diai said that since there was no cure for rabies once the symptoms had manifested, it was ideal for pet owners to ensure that their pets were immunised against rabies annually.

According to the director, if the animals were not well catered for health wise, they might constitute a source of human ill health, adding that the neglect in the treatment of the diseases could eventually lead to transmission to humans.