By Hou Akot Hou
Six people are receiving treatment for rabies following bites by an infected dog in Apada area of Aweil town.
Peter Dut Thiep, Acting Director General for the Northern Bahr El Ghazal State Ministry of Health, confirmed on Thursday that the latest incident brings the number of dog bites to 725 since January.
“The ministry of animal resources has to devise a way of taming the dogs,” Thiep said.
He said the campaign is underway to vaccinate dogs against rabies.
“Vaccinate your dogs if you love them. Dogs are very many in Aweil town and the residential areas and due to hunger they easily get mad. As you know vaccines are hardly available,” Thiep said.
He said they are working with partners such as World Health Organization (WHO) to vaccinate dogs.
In addition, cases of dog bites have been reported among Sudanese refugees being hosted Wadwil refugee camp.
Rabies is a vaccine-preventable, zoonotic, viral disease affecting the central nervous system. Once clinical symptoms appear, rabies is virtually 100% fatal. In up to 99% of cases, domestic dogs are responsible for rabies virus transmission to humans. Yet, rabies can affect both domestic and wild animals. It spreads to people and animals via saliva, usually through bites, scratches or direct contact with mucosa (e.g. eyes, mouth or open wounds).
Children between the age of 5 and 14 years are frequent victims.
