State vet drives rabies vaccination in Isipingo
A child was hospitalised recently and died of a rabies infection.
THE eThekwini office of the state veterinarian has said that the three-day rabies vaccination campaign in Isipingo, which ended on September 15, has been a success as overall – more than 8 000 dogs and cats have received the jab in the metro.
Also read: Another rabies case confirmed in Amanzimtoti
This comes after the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) revealed that an Umbumbulu child died of rabies in August, marking one of two deaths in KwaZulu-Natal in August – the other one occurring in Nongoma.
While the source of the rabies that killed the Umbumbulu child is unknown, the NICD said rabies in dogs has been reported in the area.
“The child was diagnosed with clinically suspected rabies after she was hospitalised with symptoms of malaise, anxiety, aerophobia, anorexia and hydrophobia. The rabies virus was also detected in ante-mortem saliva and cerebrospinal fluid samples taken before the child died on August 10,” said the NICD.
The state vet office has partnered with eThekwini Municipality and the Department of Agriculture to roll out the campaign in Zwelibomvu, Lotus Park and Umbumbulu over the past few months. The state vet for the eThekwini region, Queen Duma, thanked the pet owners in different communities for heeding the call to have their animals vaccinated.
“There are signs in dogs that people need to be on the lookout for as an indication that they may be affected. These include excessive saliva, aggression in a previously friendly dog, paralysis of the hind legs and excessive barking,” said Duma.
According to the state vet, a puppy should be vaccinated when it is three months old and again every three months until it is one year old. After receiving all four vaccines during its first year, it can then be vaccinated every two years.
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