BANGKOK– The Department of Disease Control’s project to make Thailand rabies-free by 2020 has made positive progress, with only three people having been infected with rabies in the country this year, an all time record low.
M.L. PanaddaDiskul, a senator and vice president of the Disease-free Animals, Save Humans from Rabies project, said the rabies situation in Thailand has improved immensely, thanks to cooperation between relevant agencies in monitoring and controlling the spread of the disease in animals, management of animal shelters, implementation of measures to prevent rabies in humans and innovations and technological advances for improving animal health. The project is in line with the wishes of Her Royal Highness Princess ChulabhornKromPhraSrisavangavadhana.
The Deputy Director-General of the Department of Disease Control, Dr. AsadangRuayajin, said 18 people were infected with rabies in Thailand last year. This year, the number dropped to three. They were reported in the provinces of Surin, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Buri Ram. The success is attributed to strictly following strategies to address animal health problems. The project will continue next year to make the country rabies-free in the very near future.
