Cross River, Plateau, Kano Top States With Rabies Infested Dogs

Cross River, Plateau, Kano, and Borno states have been ranked as states with the highest number of rabies-infested dogs in Nigeria.

This is just as the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Abubakar Kyari announced a plan to begin vaccination in the states and make the country rabies-free by 2030.

Rabies is a deadly virus caused by Lyssavirus, spread to people from the saliva of infected animals through bites or scratches, leading to progressive and fatal inflammation of the brain and spinal cord with a fatality rate of almost 100 per cent if adequate prophylaxis was not instituted immediately following an exposure.

Animals most likely to spread rabies include dogs, bats, coyotes, foxes, skunks and raccoons

Kyari said the new move would ensure equality as well as strengthen the overall health systems.

He said, “There is need for the elimination of dog-mediated human rabies in line with the global initiative to eliminate dog-mediated human rabies by the year 2030.

“In Nigeria, dogs are responsible for approximately 99 per cent of these exposures, although the burden of the disease is not known, it has been reported from every state in Nigeria occurring all year round with devastating outcomes in humans and livestock.

“To this end, the Federal Government has organized mass dog vaccination and vaccination of at-risk humans nationwide, noting that four states Cross Rivers, Plateau, Kano, and Bornu States had also been earmarked for community engagement activities for this year’s celebration due to increased reports from these States in the recent past.’

The agric minister said that the disease is 100 per cent vaccine-preventable adding that by vaccinating dogs and cats annually and keeping them on leash, rabies can be kicked out of Nigeria.

Also speaking at the event, the Minister of State, Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Tunji Alausa said it was estimated that rabies was responsible for 59,000 agonizing human deaths every year with most people living in poor, rural communities in Africa and Asia.

He emphasized that one person dies of rabies around the world every nine minutes according to the Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC) noting that in humans, the exact burden of rabies was not known because mapping was yet to be conducted.