55, 000 Die Of Rabies In Nigeria Yearly – USAID
In Nigeria, Rabies lead to about 55, 000 deaths every year, with rabid dogs accounting for about 94 per cent of confirmed human infections.
The statistics was disclosed by Mieko Mckay, USAID Nigeria Deputy Office Director for Health who spoke yesterday in Abuja, during the launch of the National Strategic Plan for Elimination of Dog-Mediated Human Rabies in Nigeria organized by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in collaboration with the Federal of Health and Breakthrough ACTION -Nigeria and other partners ahead of this year’s World Rabies Day.
According to the Country Representative, World Health Organisation, Walter Mulombo, represented by his deputy, Alexander Chimbaru, there were recent cases in Gombe and Enugu States.
Presenting the National Strategic Plan for Elimination of Dog-Mediated Human Rabies in Nigeria, Prof. Junaidu Kabir, Dean, Veterinary Medicine, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, said vaccinating 70 per cent of the population against rabies would allow the country save revenue annually.
On his part, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development Mustapha Shehuri, the Plan was formulated to assist the country in attaining the goal to abolish dog-mediated rabies by 2030.
