By Dennis Peprah
Wenchi, (B/R), Oct. 6, GNA – Cases of rabies are recording alarming trend in the Wenchi Municipality of the Bono Region, Mr Hayford Owusu Gyan, the Animal Health Officer at the Wenchi Municipal Directorate of the Veterinary Services Department has said.
He said the municipality recorded 97 cases from January to September this year and called on dog owners to vaccinate their pets to bring the disturbing situation under control.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Wenchi to mark the 2024 World Rabies Day, Mr Gyan said 112 cases of rabies were recorded in 2023, and 84 cases in 2022 and however it was only in 2022 that the disease killed one person.
Since 2007, Global Alliance for Rabies Control has marked September 28 as the World Rabies Day, the biggest event in rabies awareness.
It is celebrated annually to raise awareness about rabies prevention and to highlight progress in defeating the horrifying disease and this year’s celebration is on the theme “Vaccinate all dogs: breaking rabies boundaries”.
Mr Amfo indicated that the general vaccination of pets in the municipality remained discouraging, saying last year only 84 dogs, 18 monkeys and three cats were vaccinated in the municipality.
This year, he said only 2,166 dogs in the municipality had so far been vaccinated, saying it was an offence to leave pets unvaccinated.
Rabies, Mr Amfo explained, was a viral disease transmitted through the bite or scratch of an infected animal which remained a huge public health concern and threat.
GNA