BY KWANELE TSABEBDZE
MBABANE – The Kingdom of Eswatini has reached the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 as far as rabies are concern.
This was revealed by Ministry of Agriculture veterinarian Bavukile Kunene when speaking about vaccination campaigns for World Rabies Day 2022 tomorrow. World Rabies Day is observed on the September 28 every year.
Kunene revealed that animals that can get rabies include all mammals like horses, cattle, dogs and cats.
“We focus a lot on the dogs and cats because they usually are the ones to bring the disease to humans,” said Kunene.
Speaking on cooperation from animal owners in the country, Kunene revealed that it has become an annual culture to ensure that animals are vaccinated. It has become such that animal owners are the ones who ask the Ministry of Agriculture’s veterinary office about the vaccination times every year.
The Ministry of Agriculture spent about E362 000 to procure 67 000 doses of rabies vaccinations in the previous year- this was augmented by a donation of 50 000 doses from the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH). The vaccination campaign over the years has been very effective, as zero cases of rabies in humans or dogs were reported in the previous year.
“The disease is still under control, mostly through vaccination of dogs. Our efforts show that we will get to 2030 having met the goal – as the world dictates in the Sustainable Development Goals, we should get to 2030 with zero fatalities caused by rabies in the world. I can say that as the country of Eswatini, we have reached that milestone,” said Kunene.
Kunene encouraged anyone who gets bit by a dog or any mammal to quickly wash the wound with running water or sanitisers to reduce the chances of a severe rabies infection. Kunene also emphasised that any person who comes in violent contact with a dog should report to their nearest health facility, as well as report the matter to the veterinary services to ensure that monitoring for rabies in that individual as well as the dog.
This year’s theme for World Rabies Day is ‘Rabies: one health, zero deaths’. Animal owners, especially dogs, are encouraged to visit vaccination outreach pop-up sites, continuous vaccination sites, as well as health inspectors’ offices to get their animals vaccinated.
