In commemoration of the World Rabies Day, the United States Agency for International Development disclosed that Rabies has claimed about fifty-five thousand lives yearly in Nigeria, with rabid dogs accounting for about 94 percent of confirmed human infections
The USAID Nigeria Deputy Office Director for Health, Mieko Mckay disclosed this on Monday 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 Ministry of Health and Breakthrough ACTION.
However, the Country Representative of the World Health Organisation, Walter Mulombo, represented by his deputy, Alexander Chimbaru, said there were recent cases in Gombe and Enugu States.
The Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mustapha Shehuri, said the Plan was developed to help the country in achieving the goal to eliminate dog-mediated rabies by 2030.
Presenting the National Strategic Plan for Elimination of Dog-Mediated Human Rabies in Nigeria, Professor Junaidu Kabir, who is also the Dean, Veterinary Medicine, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, said vaccinating 70 percent of the population against rabies will enable the country save revenue annually.
UPLOADED BY: JEMILEYIN TOLULOPE
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