A national seminar on ‘Sustainable rabies control in Kerala’ that concluded at the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU) headquarters at Pookode in the district on Wednesday stressed the need for executing animal birth control (ABC) along with adopting anti-rabies vaccination strategies in the State in a war footing to combat rabies.
Handling a session on ‘Sustainable Rabies Control and Animal Welfare,’ Ilona Otter, Director of International Veterinary Training, Worldwide Veterinary Service, Ooty, said that the government should execute animal birth control (ABC) measures and develop anti-rabies vaccination (ARV) strategies in a coordinated inter-sectoral manner to control the increasing incidences of dog-bite related rabies cases in the State.
Dr. Illona cited the success story of Tamil Nadu in implementing ABC ARV for effective rabies control.
Presenting a paper on ‘Implementing Rabies Control Program - Current Strategies, Gaps and Challenges,’ Rajendra Singh, Head, Division of Pathology at Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Uttar Pradesh, stressed the need for controlling packs of stray dogs in an effective manner to combat the emergence of rabies. Dr. Singh pointed out the need for executing waste management strategies to check stray-dog menace. Humans should consider in-house management of food waste to tackle the stray dog issue, he added.
The programme was organised by the Centre for One Health, Education, Advocacy, Research and Training under the KVASU in association with the Indian Veterinary Association to mark the World Rabies Day - 2016. T. Ushakumari, district panchayat president, Wayanad, inaugurated the programme. As many as 250 delegates from across the country, including faculties, veterinarians, medical professionals and post-graduate students, attended the programme.
