Animal health workers give vaccination against rabies to pet dogs (Photo: VNA) Bac Giang (VNA) – A meeting was held in the northern province of Bac Giang on September 27 as part of activities to respond to the World Rabies Day (September 28).
Addressing the event, Vice Director of the Department of Animal Health under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Dam Xuan Thanh said that only 2.9 million out of 7.7 million pet dogs, or 38.5 percent, received vaccines against rabies.
Fatalities caused by the disease are still on the rise. In 2016, 91 deaths of rabies were reported nationwide, up 17 percent over 2015 and 38 percent over 2014. In the first nine months of this year, 57 deaths were recorded, mostly in the northern region, noted Thanh.
He pledged that in the coming time, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Heath will continue to effectively implement measures stated in the National Programme against rabies for the 2017-2021 period, while raising public awareness of disease prevention.
Representatives of the World Health Organisation and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation committed to supporting Vietnam in realising the National Programme against rabies.
World Rabies Day is the first and only global day of action and awareness for rabies prevention. It is an opportunity to unite as a community and for individuals, NGOs and governments to connect and share their work. This year, the event is themed “Rabies: Zero by 30”, which shows the target of zero human death from canine rabies by 2030.
Following the meeting, hundreds of people joined a parade in Bac Giang city in response to the Day and the province’s animal health agency vaccinated local pet dogs.-VNA
VNA
