MC’s anti-rabies drive remains a non-starter

Tribune News Service

Harshraj Singh

Ludhiana, April 24

The proposed anti-rabies drive for dogs by the Municipal Corporation has not been initiated to date despite a senior veterinary officer suggesting the idea two years ago. As part of the drive to eliminate rabies from the city, all stray and pet dogs were supposed to receive anti-rabies vaccine.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), rabies is a vaccine-preventable viral disease that occurs in more than 150 countries and territories. It causes thousands of deaths every year due to low awareness about the need for healthcare after a dog bite, mainly in Asia and Africa. India is endemic for rabies, accounting for 36% of the world’s rabies deaths.

According to information, dogs are the main source of human rabies deaths, accounting for up to 99 per cent of all cases of rabies transmission to humans. Vaccination of dogs and prevention of dog bites can help prevent rabies.

Although the Municipal Corporation has sterilised over 83,000 stray dogs in the past eight years, it is yet to make arrangements to provide annual anti-rabies vaccination to stray dogs in the city.

However in 2021, Dr Harbans Dhalla, then senior veterinary officer of the Municipal Corporation, announced that the MC would acquire the necessary vaccines in stages and seek support from the Animal Husbandry Department and GADVASU to provide the staff needed for a vaccination campaign for both stray and pet dogs. Anti-rabies vaccines were to be administered to all dogs, including pet and strays, free of cost under the campaign launched by the administration. The officer had also claimed that the Municipal Corporation would be able to make the city a rabies-free zone within 18-24 months of launching the project.

Dr Charanjit Singh Randhawa, former Head of the Department of Veterinary Medicine at Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU), said: “Our country is endemic for rabies. So, it is essential to administer anti-rabies vaccine to dogs in order to control the spread of the disease”.

As per information, an average of 52 dog-bite cases were reported from the district last year.

Satish Thaman, a former member of the Ludhiana West Sub-Division Grievances Redressal Committee, suggested that the Municipal Corporation, Animal Husbandry Department and GADVASU should collaborate to form an anti-rabies cell and take necessary steps to administer the vaccine to all dogs to control the disease and check rising dog bite cases in the city, which have already had dangerous ramifications for many residents, especially children and the elderly.

‘Form anti-rabies cell’

Satish Thaman, a former member of the Ludhiana West Sub-Division Grievances Redressal Committee, suggested that the Municipal Corporation, Animal Husbandry Department and GADVASU should collaborate to form an anti-rabies cell and take necessary steps to administer the vaccine to all dogs to control the disease and check rising dog bite cases.

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