Nationwide rabies vaccination blitz

THE Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development is set to launch an urgent nationwide dog vaccination programme as the country continues to face a significant surge in cases of rabies.

Rabies, a preventable but deadly disease, primarily linked to domestic dogs and wild jackals, has claimed nearly 59 000 lives globally each year.

It remains a serious public health threat in Zimbabwe, especially in rural areas where access to life-saving post-exposure treatment is limited.

Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Permanent Secretary, Professor Obert Jiri confirmed that 650 000 doses of vaccine have been secured from Botswana, exceeding the usual annual requirement to tackle the escalating threat.

“We are tracking livestock diseases across the country and one of them is rabies. We have seen an increase in rabies cases across the country,” he said in a recent interview.

“They generally come from our dogs and we also get it from jackals as the breeding season increases.
“So, really we have seen prevalence and an increase in rabies cases across the country. We are going to be doing a robust vaccination programme. As it is, we are receiving 650 000 doses into the country from Botswana to attack the rabies situation in our country,” said Prof Jiri.

“Ordinarily we require 500 000 doses per year, but this year because of the escalation, we have now more than what we need. So, in the next few weeks, a rabies vaccination programme will be rolled out across the country.”

He said ministry teams will target the main provinces and the main hotspots, as well as along the borders of the national parks where jackals come from.