Rabies claims 6 lives in Adamawa
Rabies has claimed at least six human lives across the state, prompting an urgent call for mass dog vaccination from the state’s Ministry of Livestock and Aquaculture Development and the Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA). It was gathered that two lives were lost in Gombi Local Government Area and four in Yola North and South […]
Rabies has claimed at least six human lives across the state, prompting an urgent call for mass dog vaccination from the state’s Ministry of Livestock and Aquaculture Development and the Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA).
It was gathered that two lives were lost in Gombi Local Government Area and four in Yola North and South LGAs, forcing health stakeholders to seek intensified intervention to curb the deadly zoonotic disease.
Confirming the fatalities, the state’s Director of Veterinary Service and Epidemiology, Dr. Nyalas Barthh, disclosed the fatalities during a road walk sensitisation campaign held in Yola.
He said laboratory samples have tested positive for rabies, with confirmation provided by the National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI) in Vom, Plateau State.
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The permanent secretary of the Ministry of Livestock and Aquaculture Development, Dr. Muhammad Amin Suleiman, appealed to the Adamawa State Government, donor agencies, NGOs, and development partners to provide immediate and sustained support.
“Rabies is 100 percent preventable, but only through the timely vaccination of dogs and cats and post-exposure prophylaxis for humans,” Dr. Suleiman said, stressing that once clinical symptoms develop, survival chances are extremely slim.
In response to the crisis, the state government embarked on a free mass vaccination campaign, during which over 150 dogs were immunized at the Jambutu veterinary clinic.