…as dog bites shoot up
Edwin Moyo
Gweru- The city of progress is set to embark on large scale anti-rabies awareness campaign to educate residents on the dangers of stray animals.
The development was confirmed in a council communique, as the Local Authority seek to engage and educate residents on the dangers of stray animals which has increased over the past years, The Midweek Watch has learnt.
“Reference is hereby made to the increasing number of dog bites recorded within the city. Recently there was an incident whereby a dog went on a rampage and bit 9 people in Mkoba 10. The rabid suspicious dog was shot and a sample was sent for laboratory analysis which later came out positive of rabies.
‘Another incident occurred recently where two dogs went on to bite people and a number of residents sustained serious wounds.
“The City Health Department has received numerous complaints from residents, with regards to dog attacks on children and subsequent dog bites. Of late, the CBD has become an eye sore with stray dogs roaming the streets during the daytime as well as at night.
“These stray dogs which are most likely unvaccinated as well often attack residents who will be going around their business around the city and the sight of them has taken away the aesthetic value of the CBD.
“We believe that the information dissemination to the residents will help upscale vaccination of dogs against rabies and prevent unnecessary pain and even death of residents from dog bites as residents would improve on securing their premises where dogs are kept.” read the notice.
Over 500 dog bite cases have been reported in Zimbabwe with most bites being from dogs of unknown status.
According to a weekly update by the Ministry of Health and Child Care, Manicaland Province with 83 bites had the highest followed by Mashonaland East with 75.
Worldwide, rabies is responsible for approximately 59 000 deaths annually.
In Zimbabwe, rabies is one of the top 5 priority diseases and it is notifiable. It is estimated that rabies cause 410 human deaths per year in the country.
Murewa District recorded 938 dog bite cases and 4 suspected rabies deaths between January 2017 and July 2018, overshooting the threshold of zero rabies cases.
Of the 938 dog bite cases reported in the district, 263 were reported in Ward 30 and these included all the 4 suspected rabies deaths reported in the district.
Late last year Gweru Council faced resistance from various stakeholders in the shootout of stray animals as the move was deemed inhuman and cruel to animals.
