Urgent: Get your pets vaccinated against rabies
Do not take the chance of losing your pets to euthanasia because they have rabies, warns Watercrest Veterinary Clinic.
THE Watercrest Veterinary Clinic has urged pet owners to vaccinate their dogs and cats against rabies.
The clinic sent out an urgent message on their Facebook page last week, saying they had suspected a dog brought into their practice was rabid.
“We took all the necessary precautions while dealing with and handling the dog. She had to be euthanised and sent for testing. The tests came back positive. This particular dog wandered onto someone’s property, and then one of the local welfare organisations got involved, too. A number of people had therefore been exposed to a rabies-positive dog,” read the post.
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According to the clinic, rabies is here in the Upper Highway, and it is 100% fatal once clinical signs become apparent.
Anyone who is bitten by a rabid dog or cat should go to the hospital or clinic immediately for postexposure prophylaxis (PEP), which consists of a dose of human rabies immune globulin (HRIG) and a rabies vaccine given on the day of the rabies exposure, and then a dose of vaccine given again on days 3, 7, and 14.
“By law, your dogs and cats have to be vaccinated against this fatal disease. Do not pick up stray and unknown dogs or cats. Call the SPCA for assistance.”
“Every unvaccinated pet or pet that is not up to date with vaccinations, that has been exposed to a rabid animal, will be removed by the state and euthanised, regardless if your pet leaves your property or not. The law is the law.”
The post continued to say that rabies is a controlled and notifiable disease in South Africa, and as mentioned, by law, pet owners are required to vaccinate their pets against rabies.
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“This means that we, as veterinarians, have to notify the state vets about any cases we see, and then the state takes over. The handling of the case is then out of our [general veterinary practitioner]’s jurisdiction. Vaccination is the only prevention against this horrific disease. And far too often, it is children who will get bitten or injured by rabid animals.”
Contact or visit Watercrest Veterinary Clinic for more information on rabies and vaccination against this disease.
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