The Lagos State Government has flagged off free anti-rabies vaccination campaign and urged animal owners to keep their pets under strict control to avoid constituting nuisance or danger in the environment.

Ms Abisola Olusanya, State Commissioner for Agriculture, gave the advice at the flag-off ceremony of the 2023 free mass anti-rabies campaign at Igando-Ikotun Local Council Development Area on Wednesday in Lagos.

Ms Olusanya said that the state government would hold a four-week free anti-rabies vaccination for all pet owners.

She who was represented by Mrs Olatokunbo Emokpae, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, said that vaccination certificates would be issued to pet owners after the exercise.

The theme of the campaign is: “Rabies: one health, zero deaths.”

It is organised by the federal ministry of agriculture and rural development under Regional Disease Surveillance Systems Enhancement (REDISSE).

She urged the general public to take advantage of this window of free vaccination programme being carried out simultaneously at the state government veterinary hospitals and clinics in all the divisions of the state to vaccinate their pets.

According to her, this is the third consecutive year of carrying out this laudable programme aimed at achieving the Global Strategy Plan for the elimination of dog-mediated human rabies death by the year 2030.

“The Lagos State Government being piloted under the leadership of Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu leaves no one in doubt that we are at the forefront of the global target of eradicating rabies in the 21st century.

“This is so especially with the bill which regulates ownership, licensing, and sales of pets as well as prohibiting and restricting people from having in custody dangerous animals in public places.

“Our goal once again is to achieve the global strategy plan on elimination of dogs-mediated human rabies death by 2030.

“I am again using this mass campaign programme to urge all animal owners to be deliberate and intentional in keeping all their pets and animals under strict control so that they do not constitute any nuisance or danger to others in the environment,” she said.

Ms Olusanya noted that rabies was a serious illness, a viral zoonotic disease that causes progressive and fatal inflammation of the brain and spinal cord that almost results in death.

She said that the virus infects the central nervous system through its spread to people from the saliva of infected animals.

“According to the World Health Organisation, rabies is estimated to cause 59,000 human deaths annually in over 150 countries, with 95 per cent of cases occurring in Africa and Asia.

Ninety-nine per cent of rabies cases are dog-mediated and the burden of this disease is disproportionally borne by rural poor populations, with approximately half of the cases attributable to children under 15.

“An estimated 21,476 human deaths occur each year in Africa due to this disease.

“Rabies, however, a vaccine-preventable disease and annual vaccination of susceptible animals especially dogs would lead to a drastic reduction of human cases.

“This, therefore, calls for the Lagos state annual free mass anti-rabies vaccination exercise,” she said.

(NAN)