Animal health workers give vaccination against rabies to pet dogs (Photo: VNA)
(VNA) – A meeting was held in the northern province of Bac Giang on September
27 as part of activities to respond to the (September 28).
Addressing the event,
Vice Director of the under the Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development Dam Xuan Thanh said that only 2.9 million out
of 7.7 million pet dogs, or 38.5 percent, received vaccines against rabies.
Fatalities caused by the
disease are still on the rise. In 2016, 91 deaths of rabies were reported
nationwide, up 17 percent over 2015 and 38 percent over 2014. In the first nine
months of this year, 57 deaths were recorded, mostly in the northern region,
noted Thanh.
He pledged that in the
coming time, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry
of Heath will continue to effectively implement measures stated in the National
Programme against rabies for the 2017-2021 period, while raising public awareness
of disease prevention.
Representatives of the
World Health Organisation and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation
committed to supporting Vietnam in realising the National Programme against
rabies.
World Day is
the first and only global day of action and awareness for rabies prevention. It
is an opportunity to unite as a community and for individuals, NGOs and
governments to connect and share their work. This year, the event is themed
“Rabies: Zero by 30”, which shows the target of zero human death from canine
rabies by 2030.
Following the meeting,
hundreds of people joined a parade in Bac Giang city in response to the Day and
the province’s animal health agency vaccinated local pet dogs.-VNA
Source: VietnamPlus
