Bangalore: Rabies-free India project to be adopted in State

[Guest guest]

http://www.deccanheraldepaper.com/svww_index1.php - 17 Feb., page 4

 

HOPE CLOSE AT HAND

 

Rabies-free India project to be adopted in State

DH NEWSSERVICE

BANGALORE:Will the newinitiative launched by the Union government help Bangalore

citizens overcome their fears of contracting rabies from stray dogs? The Animal

Welfare Board of India’s new initiative - Project Rabies Free India - which is a

national-level project, seeks to totally eliminate rabies from India. “The

project will soon be adopted in Karnataka,” said Ms Suparna Baksi

Ganguly,Vice-President of Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA).

 

Speaking to the media in the City on Friday, animal welfare organisations shared

their concern over what they called the ‘knee-jerk reaction’ to January’s

incident when stray dogs mauled a girl to death. They called upon citizens as

well as the government to evolve a multi-pronged approach to the issue.

 

“The five-year project will help counter the mostcommon problem faced in rabies

control -- re-immunisation of stray dogs. Most strays are not accessible for

injectable rabies vaccine.The new oral bait vaccine recommended by WHO will help

us re-vaccinate them, ”said Ganguly, adding that the project would not override

theimportance of the ongoing Animal Birth Control(ABC) in the City.

 

Welcoming the BBMP’s decision to have an audit of the five-yearold ABC

programme, the NGOs said the audit will make their efforts more visible and

render credibility to it. “Not many citizens know that controlling the stray dog

population has several components such as ABC, vaccination, reduction of food

sources and a check on dog breeding. The NGOs’ role is only to sterilise and

vaccinate the dogs and cull only the rabid, diseased and ferocious dogs,” said

Dr K Srinivasan, President of CUPA. “However, a major responsibility of handling

garbage and keeping a tab on meat shops is with the BBMP,” said Dr Srinivasan.

He lamented that the funds provided by the BBMP for the purpose were inadequate.

“The cost of transportation, vaccination, sterilisation, food for the dogs

during captivity add up to a cost higher than what the BBMP offers,”he added.

 

Ramakrishna, a veterinary doctor associated with CUPA, said, “The ABC programme

needs to be implemented uniformly across jurisdictions of all cities, CMCs, TMCs

or villages sharing common boundaries. With ABC in place, we can be sure that a

stray dog bite will not cause rabies.

 

“The BBMP is now planning aggressive revaccination in the City. The injectable

vaccines have a three-year potency. But we administer it annually as a

precaution,” added Ms Sanober Bharucha of CUPA.

 

HOPE CLOSE AT HAND