Bangkok – The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s (BMA) public health centers and district offices are jointly running a campaign to prevent and eliminate rabies across the capital city.
The BMA is dispatching mobile units to different communities to offer free rabies vaccinations and large numbers of people have formed long lines, waiting to get their pets inoculated against the deadly virus.
The pet owners have commended the BMA for the service, which they say has helped save time and money. The mobile vaccination service takes place twice yearly in March and September. The first round of vaccinations will run until 16th March.
The Department of Livestock Development reported that there had been two confirmed human deaths resulting from rabies since early this year, and the number of confirmed infections in animals had risen 1.5 times to 251 cases year-on-year.
Dogs are the number one carriers of rabies, followed by cats and cattle. An increased incidence of infection has been found in bovine animals. Yearly vaccinations, and sterilization are the must-dos to solve the problems of rabies and stray animals.
People bitten by dogs or cats are strongly advised to clean and attend to their wounds immediately, then see a doctor without delay. The animal should be quarantined for 10 days for symptoms of rabies.
