(CN) 550,000 dogs vaccinated against rabies in Beijing

[Guest guest]

BEIJING, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- All the 550,323 registered dogs in Beijing have

received anti-rabies inoculations, the municipal agriculture bureau said on

Monday.

 

Liu Yaqing, vice director of the bureau, said 319 anti-rabies inoculation

stations had been opened in the capital to offer free inoculations for all

registered dogs.

 

Deng Xiaohong, another bureau vice director, said Beijing has recorded 12 rabies

cases by November 15.

 

Eleven cases involved non-Beijing residents who came to seek medical help in the

city. The only case involving a Beijinger was bitten by a dog which had been

brought to the city from outside.

 

This means the vaccination of dogs has paid off, said Deng.

 

Deng said that more than 118,000 people had received anti-rabies inoculations in

Beijing after being bitten or scratched by dogs or cats by mid-November, up 22

percent on the previous year.

 

Deng said Beijing had also set up 45 anti-rabies clinics to provide 24 hour

medical assistance to those bitten by dogs.

 

However, experts believe there are around one million dogs in the city, which

means the city authorities' job is only half done.

 

Police in Beijing have implemented a " one-dog policy " - one family is only

allowed one dog - and banned dangerous dogs or dog staller than 35 cm, such as

Dobermans, Saint Bernards and Great Danes.

 

Rabies accounted for 326, or 46 percent of all fatalities caused by infectious

diseases reported on the Chinese mainland in October, according to the Ministry

of Health.

 

Editor: Mu Xuequan

 

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-12/11/content_5470862.htm