Ebonyi state recorded eight cases of rabies between January and September, the Commissioner for Health, Ebonyi State, Dr Daniel Umezurike said this on Wednesday.

Umezurike gave the figure during Ebonyi Dog-Mediated Human Rabies Control Programme, an event to mark this year’s World Rabies Day.

The 2022 edition of the event was organised by the state Ministry of Agricultural and Natural Resources in collaboration with the Ministries of Health and Environment as well as Grant and Donor Agencies.

Umezurike stated that five human contacts were listed, vaccinated and currently under surveillance. The commissioner described rabies as a viral infection spread via saliva, through a bite of a rabies infected animal in direct contact with human fresh skin wounds.

He explained that a furious rabies case would be hyperactive and might display erratic behaviour with symptoms of insomnia, excess salivation problem in swallowing, as well as other symptoms which might take long to set in.

He added that collaboration was a key strategy for prevention, as a dog as well as human prevention vaccines and public awareness, would prevent the disease.

“Prevention of rabies can be done by eliminating rabies in dogs through vaccination which is the most cost effective strategy for prevention in people. Dog vaccination reduces deaths attributed to dog mediated rabies.”

He urged residents in the state to remain calm, go about their businesses, avoid self-medication and reports suspected cases to health authorities.

The Commissioner for Agriculture, Prof. Humphery Nwobashi, corroborated the figure given by his health counterpart and said that all the cases had both human and animal contacts. He stressed the need for concerned authorities to come together under one health to mitigate the risk of rabies in both humans and animals.

According to him, practices such as mass animal vaccination, vaccination of people who have contact with rabid animals and control of stray dogs would mitigate the risk.

He said that the ministry was prepared to collaborate with the mission of one-health, zero deaths by eliminating dog medicated rabies.

On his part, the Commissioner for Environmental, Dr Richard Nnabu, cautioned owners of stray dogs to tame them as measures would be taken to prosecute such people.

The State Coordinator, World Health Organisation, Dr Vivian Ibeziako, described the theme of the event as critical to the organisation. She urged such agencies and partners to strengthen collaborations in animal health and other key programmes for good healthcare of society. She gave the assurance of the support and collaboration of the organisation to prevent rabies infections in the state.

Similarly, the Director of Ebonyi Veterinary Services in the ministry of agriculture, Dr Ephraim Nwanga, emphasized the need for reporting cases and teamwork for better results. The event featured the demonstration of pre-exposure prophylaxis of human anti-rabies vaccine on veterinary officers by the commissioner for health.

The German Government has contributed more than 200 million euros in the last 20 years in the fight against polio eradication, an official of KfW Portfolio Manager for the German Government Credit Institute for Reconstruction Mission  Mr Vincent El-Haidag stated this at a visitation the Family Health Clinic at Garki in Abuja.

He said there has been a partnership between the governments of Germany and Nigeria in the fight against polio eradication.

El-Haidag disclosed that the team was in Nigeria to monitor and assess progress made so far in the eradication of polio in the country.

Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) is an international organisation that works together with its partners in developing countries.

He said the example they saw in the Family Health Clinic needed to be duplicated in all the primary health care centres in the country.

El-Haidag advised the government to also duplicate same efforts done in polio eradication in the fight against other disease in the country.

While speaking, Dr. Vatsa Isa-Yahaya, the Acting Director, FCT Primary Health Care Development Board, acknowledged that the team was a mission from Germany and had been supporting Nigeria in polio eradication.

Isa-Yahaya noted that Germany was one of the countries which had been providing the resources which has been supporting in polio eradication.

He said the team members were taken round the facility to see for themselves how the country has made progress with the fund given to Nigeria.

Isa-Yahaya said that from the look of things, they are very happy with what they saw at the Family Health Clinic.

The Acting Director said the Federal Government was doing a lot in the fight against diseases in the country and not just waiting for assistance from donors.

As Nigeria joined the rest of the world to mark 2022 World Rabies Day, authority of the Nigerian Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), has renewed it commitment towards eradication of the transmission and spread of dog and cat mediated rabies infections.

The Mandate Secretary, Agric and Rural Development Secretariat of the FCT, Malam Abubakar Ibrahim, gave the assurance at the commemoration of the 2022 World Rabies Day, held at Nyanya Veterinary Clinic, Abuja.

September 28 of every year is set aside by the W.H.O to not only to raise awareness about rabies disease, but demonstrate practical commitments and actions by nations towards the prevention, control and eradication of the disease.

Speaking on the theme of this year, One Health Zero Death, the Secretary, Agric and Rural Development Secretariat explained that the risks of transmission and spread of the dog and cat disease in the FCT was very high being a cosmopolitan city, with a fast growing human and animal population.

The secretary also disclosed that the FCT Minister of State, Dr Ramatu Aliyu had approved the commencement of a free vaccination exercise through the length and breadth of the FCT.

Ibrahim added that already, Veterinary Doctors and Animal Health workers of the Secretariat have already been mobilized to ensure the success of the exercise.

He said that the target of the FCT Administration was to embark on a five year annual vaccination campaign against the dreaded zoonotic disease that was a menace not only in Nigeria but the world over.

Ibrahim said that the theme of this year’s event which is, “One Health Zero Deaths”is apt considering the rising cases of rabies infection that are reported globally.

The secretary revealed that records have shown that Nigeria has about 55,000 people who die annually from dog and cat mediated rabies infections.

Ibrahim explained that even though cats and other wild animals are major carriers of the disease, dogs account for over 99 per cent of recorded infections.

He stated that the secretariat carried out periodic anti rabies vaccination exercise across the nooks and crannies of the FCT.

He appreciated the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Nigeria Veterinary Medical Association, Nigeria Veterinary Research Institute, and others for their relentless support over the years in the fight against the disease.

Ibrahim expressed optimism that the provision of 47,000 doses of vaccines and other materials by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development would go a long way in helping the FCT to eradicating the dreaded disease.

This, according to him, will ensure the attainment of the declaration of the World Health Organization target of achieving “zero human rabies deaths by 2030.”

Earlier, the Director, Veterinary Services at the secretariat, Dr Regina Adulugba said the administration was committed to achieve a zero record of the virus in the territory hence the extension of the exercise to neighbouring states state of Nasarawa.

While lamenting the challenge stray dogs pose to achieving the administration goals, she stressed that ending the menace of stray dogs in the streets of FCT is key to eliminating rabies.

She further appealed to pet owners to take advantage of the exercise and ensure that their pets are vaccinated to prevent the spread of the virus.