Anti-rabies vaccine to be made available up to PHC level
Shillong, Sept 26: In view of the growing number of deaths due to rabies, the state government has come up with an action plan to address the concern and ensure that anti-rabies vaccines were made available up to the Primary Health Care (PHC) level.
At least 27 people have lost their lives due to rabies in the past one year.
As part of its measure to curb the menace, stray dogs across the state are being vaccinated. In East Khasi Hills, 600 stray dogs have been vaccinated so far. The Health department, along with Municipalities, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary department is working together to tackle the issue.
“We are planning an approach to address the concern,” said Health Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh.
Urging all stakeholders to come together to tackle the problem, Lyngdoh said, “We hope that after the culmination of the ongoing rabies awareness week, we will be able to strategically attend to this problem.”
On non-availability of anti-rabies vaccine in rural areas, the minister said, “As a government, we are committed to ensure that the vaccines are made available up to the PHC level.”
As per figures made available by the State Surveillance Officer of Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) and Nodal Officer for Rabies, Dr Valarie Laloo, out of 27 cases, 11 deaths were reported last year and 17 deaths till September, this year.
Dr Laloo also informed that the highest number of cases were reported from West Khasi Hills and West Jaintia Hills, with six cases of rabies deaths each. According to her, 96 per cent of the rabies deaths were due to dog bites.
The recent death of a mid-level health provider (MLHP) was due to a stray dog bite two months ago. “This incident was very unfortunate because being a health professional herself, she succumbed to this disease which is actually 100% preventable and at the same time 100% fatal”.
Asked, Dr Laloo said the rabies deaths were probably due to lack of awareness and at the same time complacency. “Usually, we think that puppies are sterile and that they don’t have diseases. We find them cute and harmless but actually, puppies less than 2 months old are not vaccinated. These are the stages where they are most likely to infect another,” Dr Laloo added.
Rabies has been a notifiable disease since March 23, 2023.
“Most of the cases were stray dogs, only one or two were pets and majority of them were in rural areas,” Dr Laloo added.
