The Kpone-Katamanso Municipal Assembly (KKMA) has launched a mass vaccination campaign for dogs and cats as part of efforts to eliminate rabies following a recent human death linked to the disease in the municipality.
The campaign, which began on February 12 and ends on February 23, 2022, is being held under the theme, “Let us collaborate to end Rabies.”
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A team of 18 veterinary officers and eight drivers from the Veterinary Services Directorate of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the Ghana Health Service has been deployed to vaccinate pets across the municipality’s 45 communities.
The exercise is being supported by Mission Rabies, a United Kingdom-based non-governmental organisation, which donated 20,000 doses of anti-rabies vaccines for the campaign.
Launching the exercise, the Municipal Chief Executive for Kpone-Katamanso, Mr Samuel Okoe Amankwa, said the initiative was aimed at addressing the increasing incidence of rabies in the municipality.
He said the campaign formed part of efforts to achieve the global target of eliminating dog-mediated human rabies by 2030 and called for stronger collaboration between government institutions and private organisations to intensify public education on the disease.
Municipal Health Director, Dr Priscilla Danquah, said children under the age of 16 remained the most vulnerable to dog bites and rabies infections because they were often pet owners or caregivers.
She disclosed that Ghana recorded 15,296 dog bite cases in 2020 and 16,288 cases in 2021. Of the 140 suspected rabies cases recorded nationwide in 2021, 29 were laboratory-confirmed, resulting in 12 deaths.
Dr Danquah said the municipality had experienced a steady increase in dog bite cases over the years, recording 289 cases in 2019, 243 in 2020 and 248 in 2021.
According to her, the Kpone Sub-Municipality alone accounted for 122 dog bite cases in 2021, nearly half of all reported cases within the municipality.
She further revealed that Kpone-Katamanso had recorded rabies-related deaths every other year since 2017, with the most recent fatality occurring in June 2021.
Dr Danquah said six confirmed rabies cases among dogs had been recorded since 2020, leading to the tracing of 36 human contacts and one death.
She identified shortages of post-exposure rabies vaccines and vaccine hesitancy among pet owners as some of the major challenges in controlling the disease.
Africa Project Director of Mission Rabies UK, Dr Jordan B. Bailey, said the organisation was also educating primary school pupils on rabies prevention and responsible behaviour around animals.
She encouraged pet owners to take advantage of the free vaccination campaign to protect their animals and reduce the risk of transmission.
Rabies claims an estimated 59,000 lives globally each year, with about 95 per cent of deaths occurring in Africa and Asia. Health authorities advise anyone bitten by a dog to wash the wound thoroughly with soap and running water for at least 15 minutes before seeking immediate medical attention.
