JOS – The Nigeria Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA) on Monday vaccinated more than 75 dogs in Bokkos, Plateau, as part of activities marking this year’s World Rabies Day.
Dr Sati Ngulukun, Chairman, NVMA, Plateau Chapter, who supervised the exercise, said that it was part of the efforts to encourage residents to vaccinate their dogs toward the ultimate goal of eradicating rabies in the state.
Ngulukun, who said that rabies was usually transmitted by infected dogs, called for constant vaccination of the dogs because they are pets found in many homes. [eap_ad_1] “Many families keep dogs as pets while hunters also move around with them and that poses the challenge of constant meeting with humans,” he said.
The chairman said that vaccination was very cheap at N1,000, noting that more than N50,000 were usually required to treat rabies.
“As professionals, we want to sensitise the people to vaccinate their dogs after two to three months. It is only when we do that, that we can minimise the possibility of dogs becoming rabid,” he explained.
In his remarks, Mr Monday Kassah, Chairman, Bokkos Local Government Council, thanked the association for supplying the vaccines to Bokkos and promised to share them among rural dwellers.
Kassah commended residents for bringing out their dogs for the exercise and promised to sustain the association’s effort at ridding Bokkos of rabies.
One of the beneficiaries, Mr Jerry Agandu, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) lauded the association for selecting Bokkos for the free anti-rabies campaign. (NAN)
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