Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, January 27:

Collaboration between various ministries is needed to combat rabies, according to director of Epidemiology and Disease Control Division (EDCD), Dr Mahendra Bahadur Bista.

Dr Bista said it was not possible for EDCD to combat the challenges posed by rabies. He stressed on the need for good coordination between the ministries of health, agriculture, home and the municipalities, and said there should be a good technical support from all the aforementioned sectors.

His first preventive measure to combat rabies was: “Control stray dogs and give pet dogs anti-rabies vaccination regularly.” Listing EDCD’s efforts, Dr Bista pointed out that they had sent two litres of anti-rabies vaccines to the regional medical store, Biratnagar, to help control the rabies menace in Udaypur. Forty persons were recently bitten by a suspected rabid animal.

Figures show that around 100 persons die of rabies every year in Nepal. According to rabies statistics of the last 10 years, dog-bites were responsible for 94 per cent of the rabies cases, wild animals for four per cent, and domestic pets for two per cent.

According to Epidemiology and Disease Control Division, a total of 188,500 millilitre of the vaccine has been sent to 68 health posts and hospitals this year alone, and 6,300 people have benefited from it.