The Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association’s (NVMA) FCT Chapter’s immediate past chairman, Dr. Ifeanyi Ogbu, has called for the establishment of veterinary medical centres in all local government areas in the country.
Ogbu made the call in an interview with reporters in Abuja in commemoration of World Rabies Day, observed every year on Sept. 28.
He said such measures would ensure prompt responses to rabies cases at the grassroots and curb their prevalence.
The veterinarian said the implication of the move is that veterinary doctors would be within reach of the populace at the grassroots, where the virus emanates.
Chronicle NG reports that World Rabies Day has “All for 1- One Health for All” as its theme.
Rabies is a deadly virus that spreads to people from the saliva of infected animals. The rabies virus is usually transmitted through a bite.
Animals most likely to transmit rabies in the United States include bats, coyotes, foxes, raccoons, and skunks, while in developing countries, stray dogs are the most likely to spread rabies to people.
He blamed the prevalence of rabies in the country on the non-availability of veterinary medical centres in rural areas, describing the challenge as a major gap in rabies prevention.
“We still have rabies prevalence in rural communities because of a lack of veterinary medical centres, and all this while we have been calling for government intervention.
“When rabies occurs, communities will interpret it as mad dog syndrome, but it is actually rabies that is killing them.
“So we are lacking a touch in grassroots rabies prevention because of a lack of government veterinary facilities, which is the major issue now. We are lacking veterinary care and professionals in rural communities.
“Most of the professionals, when they graduate, head to teaching, so there will be no vet left in such places,” he decried.
The veterinarian further urged the government to improve funding for the health sector, particularly veterinary medicine, in the annual budgetary allocation.
He blamed the rate of infectious diseases from animals in the country on poor funding of the veterinary health sector.
“The government should intensify health sector funding if they want to pass an annual budget and allot a lot of money to it because infectious diseases from animals are rampant in this country.
“There will still be more outbreaks of diseases from animals, so the government at all levels should map out money for health, particularly veterinary medicine,” he said.
Speaking on the theme, he emphasized the need for collaboration between
human medical doctors, pharmacists, laboratory scientists, attendants, and veterinary doctors to look at everything happening in the environment and animals as a pointer to human health.
He says, “This is because over 78 percent of the diseases that worry man globally are from animals. Considering this factor, there is a need for all stakeholders in the health and animal sectors to team up to protect man on the planet.
“The whole essence of the theme is collaboration between stakeholders in animal and human health in the fight against rabies.
“That is, if rabies that affect animals, particularly dogs, end up affecting men, there is a need for animal doctors that handle dogs and human doctors that handle humans to team up to combat this common enemy.”
The World Rabies Day inaugurated in September 2007 was aimed at raising awareness and advocating for the global elimination of the dreaded rabies disease that has been set for 2030.
On September 28, the anniversary of Frenchman Louis Pasteur’s passing, the Global Alliance on Rabies Control (GARC) organizes a day to raise awareness of the disease.
