Pet owners in and around Ottosdal area brought their animals for free rabies vaccinations as part of a month long departmental rabies campaign aimed at extending services to communities. 

Last month, September, was declared as Rabies month by the OIE- World Organization for Animal Health which is the international body of disease control worldwide.  Statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO) show that in spite of all the knowledge and technology the world knows, rabies still continues to kill more than 55 000 people every year around the world.

Deputy Director Animal Health in Ngaka Modiri Molema District, Dr Simon Mosenogi said that it was important to vaccinate pets, especially cats and dogs annually as a means to effectively preventing the contraction of rabies in animals and the spread thereof. This is a potentially fatal disease if left untreated and humans can easily contract rabies as they are in close contact with their areas.

“We appreciate our communities for taking precautionary measures and heeding the call to vaccinate their pets annually. This year (2019) marks the highest number of pets that we have vaccinated in a day which is 1305 dogs and 29 cats. Pet owners in the North West are continuously being reminded and educated about the importance of vaccinations which can be done at the department’s State Veterinary Offices for free throughout the year,” said Dr Mosenogi.

In addition to the rabies vaccination, Provincial Veterinaries and Animal Health Technicians de-wormed the animals in partnership with the National Department of Agriculture and the North West University technical students.  Jacob Mohepadira from Letsopa Township has been a dog owner for 2 years and said that he had been using state veterinary services from 2017 and is grateful for the efforts made by the North West to extend services to those that are unable to access vaccinations closer to their areas.

Florence Fortuin who also had her two dogs vaccinated on the day applauded the department for continuously raising awareness about the disease. Fortuin said, “I have been a dog owner for eight years and every year I have been able to access vaccinations within Letsopa Township. These services give me peace of mind because I have young children who play with dogs and can be easily exposed to any kind of viruses which dogs contract”.

Rabies is a caused by a virus that affects the nervous system of the affected animal.  It is caused when the virus enters the body from saliva of infected animals through a bite wound.

The exposure may include bites, but it is important to note that small nicks that break the skin or even licks of the eyes, nose and mouth are regarded as exposure.

The clinical signs that are expected in a positive rabies case are signs related to the dysfunctional nervous system.  They are classified either as “dumb form” or “aggressive form”. In the dumb form, these animals show signs of lethargy and progress to facial paralysis.  In the aggressive form they show signs of extreme aggression and as they get paralysed in the face, they tend to produce lot of saliva. Some animals may simply show hindquarter paralysis.

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Experts say human beings are extremely susceptible to rabies. The spill of rabies into humans usually starts from the wild animals (Sylvatic rabies). Wild rabies is transmitted to the domestic animals like dogs and cats.  Once infected, they show aggression and tend to bite anything including humans.  In that way humans tend to get it. Once human being contract rabies, it becomes a dead end host, like most of your herbivorous animals because they cannot transmit it to others by biting but they die.

Since the beginning of this year (2019), North West Province alone has reported at least eighteen (18) cases of Rabies. Eight of these outbreaks occurred in the Bojanala Platinum District. In Ngaka Modiri Molema and Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati Districts there were (4) four outbreaks recorded for each, while Dr Kenneth Kaunda District recorded two (2) outbreaks. 

To curb this, officials from the Department are constantly embarking on activities across the province to educate and bring awareness to communities on the importance of vaccinating pets and why it is important to neuter or spay pets.

-NWPG Agriculture

-The VIP Team