-As Gov’t and Partners Observed World Rabies Day in Margibi County
By Emmanuel Degleh,emanicdegleh@gmail.com,Contributing Writer
KAKATA, Margibi County– As Liberia joining other nations around the World to commemorate International Rabies Day, a major vaccination campaign is being is being launched in Liberia to vaccinate hundreds of dog against the disease.
With thousands of dogs in Liberia, Monrovia alone having close to two thousand, The World Health Organization (WHO) describes Rabies is a zoonotic disease (a disease that is transmitted from animals to humans), caused by the rabies virus, of the Lyssavirus genus, within the family Rhabdoviridae.
Domestic dogs are the most common reservoir of the virus, with more than 99% of human deaths caused by dog-mediated rabies.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is leading an effort against Rabies in Liberia and it has procured 3,000 dozes of vaccines, 3,000 syringes and needles and printed 3,000 cards for this year’s World Rabies Day.
The World Health Organization (WHO) describes Rabies is a zoonotic disease (a disease that is transmitted from animals to humans), caused by the rabies virus, of the Lyssavirus genus, within the family Rhabdoviridae. Domestic dogs are the most common reservoir of the virus, with more than 99% of human deaths caused by dog-mediated rabies.
The theme of this year’s International Rabies Day is “Vaccinate to Eliminate” in a bid to fight Rabies prevention and control in Liberia and globally. This is an effort to join other nations to eliminate rabies by 2030, a free rabies vaccination and public awareness campaign beginning 24th Setember-4th October 2019.
World Rabies Day 2019 is being celebrated by the Ministry of Agriculture, (MOA) Ministry of Health (MOH) and the National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL) in collaboration with Partners with free Rabies vaccination for dogs and cats specially targeting Montserrado, Margibi and Lofa Counties.
Speaking at the official launch of the weeklong vaccination public awareness campaign in Kakata, Margibi Inspector Kpakanay Gbankpala noted that the rabies vaccination campaign helpful to the citizens of the county many of them cannot afford to pay for the treatment of their dogs.
The county inspector used the occasion to call on residents of the county to stop the myth of witch influence when their domestic pets are from illness such as rabies which cause them to behave unusual.