The main risk comes from the awareness of dog and cat owners

Heart-breaking incident in Quang Ninh

Bài liên quan

Risk of spreading rabies in the livestock herd

Preventing rabies spread from slaughterhouses

In Quang Ninh province, there have been 11 outbreaks of rabies in dogs, recording over 5,000 cases of dog bites. The total number of people receiving post-exposure prophylaxis due to dog bites is 1,330, an increase of nearly 70% over the same period.

Notably, in October, two more rabies outbreaks were continually recorded in Ha Long city and Uong Bi city. The entire Quang Ninh province recorded 23 more people suspected of being bitten by rabid dogs. Through testing, three dog samples were positive for the rabies virus, and one dead person was positive for the rabies virus in Uong Bi city.

The patient, V.D.T. (7 years old, residing in Trung Vuong ward, Uong Bi), was bitten on the left hand by a neighbor's dog on June 25. At the time of biting T., the dog had not been vaccinated against rabies.

After the incident, on September 26, the family had the child vaccinated against rabies at a service vaccination facility. At the same time, T. was taken to the Vietnam-Sweden Hospital in Uong Bi for examination and treatment. On October 1, T. was discharged from the hospital and went back to school normally. However, on October 10, T. suddenly got a fever and had to go to Vietnam-Sweden Hospital Uong Bi for emergency treatment. The situation continued to get worse; the child was transferred to Hanoi in critical condition, foaming at the mouth. T. has a poor prognosis, and the medical team is no longer able to intervene.

Through the heart-breaking incident of T., based on the results of the National Centre for Veterinary Diagnosis, the Chairman of the Uong Bi City People's Committee issued Decision No. 5288/QD-UBND on declaring animal rabies in Den Cong 1 area, Trung Vuong ward, Uong Bi city.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Doan, Head of the Uong Bi City Health Department, said that the rabies situation is becoming complicated, although this is not the time of the hot season, easily arising rabies in the farmed dog herd.

All-level governments and functional departments, branches, and sectors of Uong Bi city are actively implementing measures to respond, prevent, and control rabies from arising and spreading. However, according to Ms. Doan, many dog and cat owners are still subjective about rabies, and the situation of dogs and cats being loose or unvaccinated still occurs.

Essential to have strong sanctions for handling loose dogs

Bài liên quan

Improve awareness of grazing and muzzles for dogs and cats

Hanoi to gradually eradicate rabies

Whether on urban streets or alleys in residential areas of the city, it's easy to see dogs without muzzles roaming free.

Although regulations on grazing dogs and cats in residential areas have been disseminated, there are currently no strong sanctions for handling loose dogs and cats. Letting dogs roam free on the streets without protection measures is happening commonly in many residential areas.

According to the report on the results of rabies prevention and control in Uong Bi city, the rabies vaccination rate since the beginning of the year has reached 6,783/9,350 heads, equal to 72.5% of the number assigned by the City Plan, 100.3% of the number of dogs and cats raised in communes and wards, and 95% over the same period.

However, through assessments of the functional agency, the statistics of dogs and cats raised in residential areas in the city are incomplete due to the fact that owners hide and do not declare when they are notified of vaccination for dogs and cats.

Just like in Trung Vuong ward, the locality that is announcing the presence of rabies, according to the report, in 2023, the Ward People's Committee has implemented vaccination for 580/580 animals, reaching 100% of the dogs and cats in the vaccination statistics. However, when the epidemic occurred, the Ward People's Committee conducted a review and counted 473 more animals in 3 areas (Den Cong 1, 2, and 3) in the epidemic area, while 7 areas in the ward did not have statistical review data.

This shows that the statistical review to carry out vaccination in the area of Trung Vuong ward in general and the entire Uong Bi city in particular is incomplete, making it difficult for disease control and prevention.

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Doan, Head of the Uong Bi City Health Department, the need to raise dogs and cats is not only a need for housekeeping but also many families’ need to raise pets. However, many owners lack knowledge about rabies vaccinations for dogs and cats.

To overcome the rabies epidemic in livestock, Ms. Doan emphasized that the most important thing is to manage and inject rabies vaccines for the nationwide dog herd. Besides, domestic businesses need to research feeding vaccines that will be more convenient for rabies prevention. If the feeding vaccine cannot be researched successfully right now, it is possible to make procedures to import it.

In particular, it is necessary to amend the decree on sanctioning administrative violations in the fields of animal husbandry and veterinary medicine. Specifically, in cases of loose dogs, dogs biting people, biting lethally, seriously injuring people, or being unvaccinated, there must be stronger and more drastic handling solutions. With current regulations, a fine of VND 1 to 2 million is not enough of a deterrent.

"The rabies situation is becoming complicated. Facing the risk of rabies in farmed dogs that can arise whenever, it is recommended that people strictly comply with regulations on rabies prevention and control; chain dogs and not let them roam free; and closely monitor farmed dogs and cats. If there are unusual or sick symptoms, immediately notify the veterinary agency for timely handling. Be proactive in vaccination for dogs and cats to join hands with the city to ensure the safety of people's health and lives," Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Doan emphasized.

At the regular September 2023 press conference of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Nguyen Van Long, Director of the Department of Animal Health, said that since the beginning of the year, more than 270 dogs and cats infected with rabies have been detected, double the number compared to the previous year. There have also been 64 people who have died from rabies, an increase of 18% compared to the previous years. Of which, Gia Lai province has 11 people, the most in the country.

According to data from the Department of Animal Health, currently in Vietnam, the situation of loose dogs is very common, accounting for about 50% of the total herd. The rabies vaccination rate for dogs is low, just reaching less than 50%, while WHO requires a rate of over 70%.

Each year in Vietnam, more than 500,000 people are exposed to rabies from dog bites. In 2022 alone, 76 people died from rabies. This shows that the situation of loose dogs, if no preventive measures are taken, will cause many dangerous consequences for the community.