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Anti-Rabies campaign begun by Makerere Vets

by Uganda Times

Makerere University College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity with support from the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), and other stakeholders have launched a four-year project geared towards eliminating rabies in Uganda.
The project, launched on Tuesday, involves vaccinating dogs, and creating awareness, among others. 

Prof Umar Kakumba, the deputy vice-chancellor in charge of academic affairs at Makerere University, said the project is geared towards addressing public health challenges by “accelerating Uganda’s efforts to control and eliminate rabies.” 
The project, he said, will contribute to the Sustainable Development Goal (3) of ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all. 

Mr Kakumba said the project aims at eliminating dog-mediated human deaths and reducing the burden of disease on families, communities, and healthcare systems.
Dr Hannington Katumba, a veterinarian at Kampala Capital City Council Authority (KCCA), said they record between  15 and 20 dog bites monthly.  To stop stray dogs from multiplying, he said KCCA is removing reproductive parts of stray dogs within the city. But he said not every dog bite carries rabies.
 Dr Anna Mary Kahunde, a senior veterinary officer from Kyegegwa District,  said her office is grappling with low reporting of cases within the community, though some residents have told her that between two and six people have succumbed to rabies in the last two months. 

She said most people die of rabies because they seek help from traditional healers before getting to medical experts and that by the time they reach a hospital, the situation has worsened and cannot be saved.
Ms Kahunde said there is a need to address the lack of information through mass sensitisation. 
Dr Terence Odoch, the team leader of the eliminate rabies project, said the key issue is sensitisation. According to him, the project will prioritise sensitising the local communities about the dangers of rabies. He added that they will do surveillance of the disease, which involves taking samples from the dogs in the communities.

According to Prof Salome Duerr of Bun University, there is poor access to vaccines majorly in the rural areas. She said rabies is a big issue because of its high prevalence rate. 
Ms Duerr added: “We want to target rabies surveillance in a one health approach. So that means we want to link the cases in dogs with the bites on humans. It is important to know when a dog bites a person, whether or not there is rabies. “ 
A one health approach assures the engagement of multiple sectors and local communities to build awareness and conduct mass dog vaccination campaigns. 
The project will be implemented in districts of Soroti,  Kyegegwa and Kampala.

About rabies
Rabies, is a viral disease.  It is fatal but can be avoided through vaccination.
 Rabies occurs in more than 150 countries and territories. 
According to World Health Organisation (WHO), the world registers 59,000 deaths every year from rabies, with nearly one death every 15 minutes. According to WHO, 95 percent of these deaths are in Africa and Asia.
 
WHO, however, says the numbers might be a gross underestimate due to widespread under reporting and uncertain estimates. At least 99 percent are from dog bites. 40 percent of the deaths are children under 15 years of age. 
Dogs are the main source of human rabies deaths, contributing up to 99% of all rabies transmissions to humans. Rabies can be prevented through the vaccination of dogs and affected humans.

Source: Adapted from Monitor.

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