Rise in rabies cases worrisome - by Wezi Tjaronda
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WINDHOEK - Namibia joins other countries in the world to commemorate World Rabies Day on September 28.
The day comes at a time when rabies is increasing in Namibia. Between 2005 and 2006, 26 people died in the northern regions due to rabies.
An analysis of trends in Rabies Surveillance Data between 1995 and 2005 indicates that Northern Communal Areas (NCA) recorded 443 confirmed outbreaks in the 10 years. Windhoek and Otjiwarongo came second and third, with 159 and 149 cases respectively.
World Rabies Day, in its third year this year, is the Alliance for Rabies Control's flagship campaign against rabies.
The world over has embarked on a big movement to try and eradicate rabies.
The Directorate of Veterinary Services reports that there was an increase in rabies cases reported in the Oshana Region, where six cattle and two dogs died.
The concern in the region, according to the DVS August National Summary Report, is that people do not take their dogs and cats for vaccination during the campaigns.
Trends show that rabies cases are on the increase in Namibia, with the problem being more severe in the north central areas of Namibia than anywhere else in the country.
Dogs are the main carriers of the disease in NCA.
According to reports, 33 animals including eight wild animals succumbed to rabies last month alone.
The highest cases were in the Oshikoto Region, which recorded 18 cases. Oshana came second.
Rabies, an acute infectious disease of the central nervous system, affects almost all mammals, including humans. It is caused by a rhabdovirus and usually spread by contamination with virus-laden saliva of bites inflicted by rabid animals. Animal vectors include the dog, cat, vampire bat, mongoose, skunk, wolf, raccoon, and fox.
Most human deaths follow a bite from an infected dog. Between 30 and 60 percent of the victims of dog bites are children under the age of 15.
Yet, every one of these deaths could have been prevented. While rabies has no cure, effective vaccination to prevent it exists.
Dogs are supposed to be vaccinated every year in the northern regions and Kunene, where rabies is endemic. During vaccination campaigns for cattle, people can also take their dogs for the rabies vaccine.
The Alliance for Rabies Control has a mission to prevent human rabies deaths and to alleviate the burden of rabies in animal species.
Its vision is a world where all countries have eliminated rabies. It began in 2005 as an independent, non-profit organisation and has built an international community of individuals and organisations with an interest in and concern for rabies control.
The alliance raises awareness, supports rabies control programmes and promotes educational initiatives in order to stop the unnecessary loss of human life.
The high costs of prevention of rabies exert a substantial economic burden on individuals and societies in developing countries, and particularly affects those who can least afford it.
Rabies also results in significant livestock losses, which can have devastating economic consequences.
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The day comes at a time when rabies is increasing in Namibia. Between 2005 and 2006, 26 people died in the northern regions due to rabies.
An analysis of trends in Rabies Surveillance Data between 1995 and 2005 indicates that Northern Communal Areas (NCA) recorded 443 confirmed outbreaks in the 10 years. Windhoek and Otjiwarongo came second and third, with 159 and 149 cases respectively.
World Rabies Day, in its third year this year, is the Alliance for Rabies Control's flagship campaign against rabies.
The world over has embarked on a big movement to try and eradicate rabies.
The Directorate of Veterinary Services reports that there was an increase in rabies cases reported in the Oshana Region, where six cattle and two dogs died.
The concern in the region, according to the DVS August National Summary Report, is that people do not take their dogs and cats for vaccination during the campaigns.
Trends show that rabies cases are on the increase in Namibia, with the problem being more severe in the north central areas of Namibia than anywhere else in the country.
Dogs are the main carriers of the disease in NCA.
According to reports, 33 animals including eight wild animals succumbed to rabies last month alone.
The highest cases were in the Oshikoto Region, which recorded 18 cases. Oshana came second.
Rabies, an acute infectious disease of the central nervous system, affects almost all mammals, including humans. It is caused by a rhabdovirus and usually spread by contamination with virus-laden saliva of bites inflicted by rabid animals. Animal vectors include the dog, cat, vampire bat, mongoose, skunk, wolf, raccoon, and fox.
Most human deaths follow a bite from an infected dog. Between 30 and 60 percent of the victims of dog bites are children under the age of 15.
Yet, every one of these deaths could have been prevented. While rabies has no cure, effective vaccination to prevent it exists.
Dogs are supposed to be vaccinated every year in the northern regions and Kunene, where rabies is endemic. During vaccination campaigns for cattle, people can also take their dogs for the rabies vaccine.
The Alliance for Rabies Control has a mission to prevent human rabies deaths and to alleviate the burden of rabies in animal species.
Its vision is a world where all countries have eliminated rabies. It began in 2005 as an independent, non-profit organisation and has built an international community of individuals and organisations with an interest in and concern for rabies control.
The alliance raises awareness, supports rabies control programmes and promotes educational initiatives in order to stop the unnecessary loss of human life.
The high costs of prevention of rabies exert a substantial economic burden on individuals and societies in developing countries, and particularly affects those who can least afford it.
Rabies also results in significant livestock losses, which can have devastating economic consequences.
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