The Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has commenced a two-week mass rabies vaccination campaign, targeting between 15,000 and 20,000 dogs and cats across the territory.
The Mandate Secretary of the secretariat, Sulieman Ango, disclosed this while monitoring the exercise in Gwagwalada.
He said the campaign was aimed at halting the spread of rabies following reported cases in Gwagwalada and Kwali area councils.
Ango said the exercise was designed to create a protective barrier against the virus, adding that more than 100 veterinary officers had been mobilised to various locations across the territory.
“We have the firm conviction that by vaccinating 15,000 to 20,000 dogs and cats, we are going to stop the spread of the virus.
“From what we have recorded so far, two weeks is sufficient time for our team to cover this scope,” he said.
He urged residents to remain calm and cooperate with veterinary teams deployed to communities.
Ango said the vaccination would be conducted daily at designated centres across the six area councils during the two-week exercise.
He commended the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, for his swift approval and support for the intervention.
On his part, the Director of Veterinary Services, Dr Karnak Dandam, said the free vaccination campaign was aimed at covering all 62 wards of the FCT.
Dandam described rabies as a “100 per cent fatal disease” once clinical symptoms appear in humans, but said it was entirely preventable through animal vaccination.
“Rabies is a very deadly disease. Once a rabid dog bites a human being and the clinical signs set in, there is no survival, but it is 100 per cent preventable once the dogs are vaccinated,” he said.
He said more than 12,000 vaccine doses were currently available, adding that veterinary teams were working continuously to vaccinate both owned and stray dogs and cats.
Dandam said some communities, including Kuje and Bassa, had already taken steps to vaccinate animals following reports of the outbreak.
Some beneficiaries of the exercise in Gwagwalada commended the FCTA for its swift response.
A dog owner, Nathan Yusuf, who brought his dogs for their first rabies vaccination, expressed satisfaction with the free exercise.
Similarly, Bashir Yusuf, a local hunter who presented his three dogs for vaccination, commended the FCTA for providing the service at no cost to residents.
The FCTA had on July 15 confirmed eight rabies cases and two deaths in the territory and urged residents to vaccinate their dogs and cats to curb the spread of the disease.
The administration subsequently announced plans for a mass vaccination exercise across villages and towns in the six area councils.
Credit to our Media Partner DailyTrust .
