Chirundu records one rabid dog case
Written by Millennium on April 27, 2019
LILIAN CHIKANDI writes
CHIRUNDU district has recorded one case of a rabid dog in Kapululira ward, according to district Livestock and fisheries coordinator Mr Noah Sinkala.
Mr Sinkala said that the Veterinary department had since embarked on a dog vaccination and cropping exercise in ten wards of the district.
“Following reports that a stray dog bit four people in Kapululira, veterinary officers rushed to the area and killed the dog.
“It was caged for four days and died on its own an indication that it had rabies. The dog was decapitated and its head sent to Lusaka for further investigations which tested positive,” said Mr Sinkala.
He said the veterinary team had moved to rural parts of the district starting with Sikoongo in Lusitu ward.
Mr Sinkala said there are a lot of dogs in the rural areas that are not registered and vaccinated hence the need to sensitize the communities to do what was required of them to help make Chirundu rabies-free.
Meanwhile some residents of Sikoongo ward have complained that the fee for dog registration and vaccination per dog of K45 was too high for the rural set up when people could not afford a meal for a day due hunger in the area this year.
The residents also complained that they were not correctly informed on the dates when the veterinary officers would visit the area.
A resident Mr Dickson Kalumanda said it would be sad if veterinary officers should crop the dogs by shooting them because most residents did not have the money to register and vaccinate the canines
And commenting on the matter, Mr Noah Sinkala said people were supposed to pay K20 for dog registration at the council and K25 for vaccination which he insisted was affordable.
He said vaccines were very expensive to acquire hence the modest fee.
Mr Sinkala has cautioned the public that any dog that will be unregistered or vaccinated will be shot because peoples’ lives and health could not be put at risk.
