Mission Rabies Launches Massive Dog Vaccination Drive in Blantyre
The five-weekend systematic vaccination campaign aims to stop the deadly viral disease's spread and shield Blantyre citizens from potential exposure.
BLANTYRE, Malawi— Mission Rabies, a project of Worldwide Veterinary Services (WVS), is gearing up to vaccinate between 25,000 and 35,000 dogs during its annual rabies vaccination campaign launching Saturday in Blantyre city, writes Steven Godfrey Mkweteza.
"Dog owners will have easy access to vaccination clinics at strategic locations throughout the city, enabling them to make sure their pets receive the required rabies protection," said Inga McDermott, Mission Rabies' country director.
"Only if at least 70 percent of all dogs are vaccinated, herd immunity can be achieved and the disease can be eliminated in the city."
McDermott described the program as "an important step towards protecting the health of Blantyre city residents and their pets," urging all dog owners to bring their animals forward to "help keep their community life safe."
"To prevent human rabies deaths in the city, the disease needs to be eliminated by targeting the most important source of transmission - dogs," she explained.
The five-weekend systematic vaccination campaign aims to stop the deadly viral disease's spread and shield Blantyre citizens from potential exposure.
Dr. Dagmar Mayer, the project's Malawi operations director, said surveillance since 2019 has revealed a significant drop in rabies cases, from around 60 annually to just 5-10 cases per year now in Blantyre.
"But it's still very important that we continue vaccinating as many dogs as possible as we still find rabid dogs in the city. Most often it's when people buy a dog in other districts with no previous vaccination," Mayer said.
She warned that dogs sold roadside without vaccination history pose a huge public health risk, potentially putting entire families at deadly risk of contracting rabies, which is 100% fatal once symptoms develop according to studies.
"We are always targeting at least 70 percent of the dog population in each area we are working in. For Blantyre city this is usually between 25,000 to 35,000 dogs every year," Mayer said.
"We are then conducting post-vaccination surveys to assess coverage and have been meeting our target of more than 70 percent every year."