The Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, announced this initiative in Abuja on September 26, 2013, Thursday.
The
Minister addressed newsmen as part of activities marking World Rabies
Day, with the theme, “Rabies: understand it to defeat it”.
Rabies,
contracted through dog bite, is a deadly infectious disease caused by a
virus which invades the nerves, spinal cord, brain and salivary gland
of an infected animal or man. It had become a major public health
problem in Nigeria.
Prof. Chukwu, was represented at the event by the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health, Mr. Sani Bala.
The
Secretary said about 10,000 Nigerians were exposed to dog bite
annually. He expressed concern over the failure of many dog owners to
vaccinate their animals against rabies.
Moreover,
each year more than 55,000 people died globally, including 25,000 in
Africa, from rabies infection, adding that although there was no
effective treatment for the disease, it was vaccine-preventable.
“Children
are often the most vulnerable because they are more likely to be bitten
by dogs and also more likely to be severely exposed through multiple
bites.
“The
challenges of rabies prevention and control in Nigeria are numerous;
one of them is that the burden of rabies in human is largely unknown.
“Human cases are often under-diagnosed and under-reported due to lack of diagnostic facilities and trained personnel.
“The
passive surveillance used for case detection has been grossly
inadequate, all these contribute to lack of accurate and reliable
information needed for planning purposes,” Mr. Sani Bala said.
Prof. Chukwu said the ministry would create anti-rabies vaccine centres in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
He said the government would also provide standard operating procedure for treatment of rabies in all health facilities.
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