Rabies prevention solutions in the country's largest city

Approximately 90% of dogs and cats are vaccinated against rabies every year

In Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), since the beginning of the year, tens of thousands of people have been scratched and bitten by dogs and cats and have had to get vaccinated against rabies. Currently, the total dog and cat herd in HCMC is 183,700 heads (7.6 million heads nationwide), raised in 106,060 households.

According to Mr. Le Minh Tri, Deputy Head of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Epidemiology, Ho Chi Minh City Sub-Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine (Ho Chi Minh City Department of Agriculture and Rural Development), Ho Chi Minh City is one of the country’s largest economic, cultural, and social centers and a place to trade goods. Therefore, the city has a great risk of pathogen invasion. However, according to records, there have been no cases of rabies in animals or humans occurring in HCMC for many years.

To achieve these results, Mr. Le Minh Tri said the Ho Chi Minh City Sub-Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine (referred to as the Sub-Department) has advised the City People's Committee to synchronously implement solutions to prevent and control animal rabies in the area.

Of which, the Sub-Department coordinates with the People's Committees of districts and unions to inform and disseminate information to people about rabies prevention and control, vaccination against rabies, not letting dogs and cats roam free, and reporting and declaring livestock activities and violations. In particular, coordinating with the Ho Chi Minh Department of Education and Training in school communication work had positive effects on rabies prevention and control.

In addition, coordinate with the commune-level People's Committee to review and compile statistics on changes in dog and cat herds periodically, twice a year, and import the data into the livestock statistics management software. This aims to strictly manage the dog and cat herds in the area, as well as support the organization of vaccination and manage vaccination monitoring sampling. Thus serving as a basis for successfully maintaining Ho Chi Minh City as an animal disease-free zone for rabies.

Besides, the Sub-Department coordinates with districts and Thu Duc city to organize vaccinations for dogs and cats. “We focus on mass vaccination around March-May every year and regular additional vaccination according to age.

Therefore, the annual vaccination rate always reaches over 88% of the total inspected herd. Every year, more than 300 blood samples are taken to test for post-vaccination antibody titers. Thereby, the protection rate against rabies in the city always reaches over 80%," Mr. Tri said.

Mr. Tri added that the Sub-Department regularly coordinates with local governments to strictly control private veterinary service establishments in order to promptly update the vaccination situation at private veterinary clinics, thereby creating favorable conditions for issuing provincially exported animal quarantine certificates for dog and cat breeders.

Ho Chi Minh City is an animal disease-free zone for rabies

Regarding the work of catching loose dogs, Mr. Tri said that the Sub-Department provided training on catching loose dogs for personnel of the People's Committees of communes and supported means and tools to catch and handle dogs. "As of now, there are 59 wards and communes that have established groups to catch loose dogs in the city," Mr. Tri said.

Since 2008, the Ho Chi Minh City Sub-Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine has advised and implemented the construction of rabies-free wards and communes. The first 2 wards (ward 4 and ward 6 of Tan Binh district) were recognized as rabies-free in 2008. By 2020, Ho Chi Minh City was certified as an animal disease-free zone for rabies.

In order for rabies prevention and control in the area to be effective, contributing to maintaining Ho Chi Minh City as a disease-free zone and protecting people's health, the Ho Chi Minh City Sub-Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine recommends that people have dogs and cats vaccinated against rabies once a year.

The first vaccination is performed at 12 weeks of age. In cases where dogs and cats are vaccinated before 12 weeks of age, the first vaccination schedule must be supplemented with one additional vaccination at 12 weeks of age or older.

"This is an effective disease prevention measure for domestic animals, so rabies does not occur in humans," Mr. Tri said.

In addition, people must declare livestock activities twice a year to the local government and declare to the local Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Station or local government when bringing dogs and cats from other places to raise, especially pets that have not been vaccinated against rabies.

In particular, do not buy dogs and cats peddled on the streets or of unknown origin. When taking the dog out in public, it is mandatory to wear a muzzle and a leash for the dog to ensure the safety of others. When bitten by a dog or cat, people need to treat the wound and quickly go to a medical facility for advice, treatment, and a timely vaccination against rabies.

When a dog or cat is discovered to have rabies symptoms such as hiding in a dark, secretive corner, being overly energetic, barking aimlessly, howling intermittently or restlessly, or jumping up to grab air, bitting or scratching itself, giving up eating, difficult swallowing, fever, dilated pupils, etc., it must be kept separately and immediately reported to the local government or veterinary agency for timely handling to control and prevent the occurrence and spread of rabies disease in the community.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control, the People's Committees of districts in the city are currently organizing vaccinations against rabies for dogs and cats. People need to pay the vaccination cost of VND 23,000/dose. Particularly for people in 5 suburban districts: Cu Chi, Hoc Mon, Binh Chanh, Nha Be, and Can Gio, when having their dogs and cats vaccinated against rabies, they only have to pay VND12,500/dose due to 50% support of the cost according to Decree No. 23/2021/NQ-HDND dated December 9, 2021 of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council.

When there is a need to have dogs and cats vaccinated against rabies, people should bring them to the Animal Disease Diagnosis, Testing, and Treatment Station (No. 126 Tran Quy, Ward 6, District 11) or the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Stations of districts and Thu Duc city to be vaccinated according to regulations.