Brong-Ahafo records five deaths from rabies in three years

The Brong-Ahafo region recorded five deaths from 412 dog bites from 2010 – 2012.

In 2010, one person died out of 121 recorded cases of dog bites; another person died out of 110 dog bite cases recorded in 2011; while three people died from 181 dog bites recorded in 2012.

This was revealed by Dr Kenneth Gbeddy, Brong-Ahafo Regional Director of Veterinary Services, when presenting a report on Anthrax and other disease affecting livestock in the region at Sunyani on Wednesday.

He presented the report when Mr Clement Kofi Humado, Minister of Food and Agriculture paid a day’s visit to the region to interact with stakeholders in the agricultural sector.

Dr Gbeddy said an anthrax outbreak at the Disease Investigation Farm (DIF) at Techiman in February this year, which resulted in the death of three cattle, was contained when the anthrax spore vaccine was made available to vaccinate all susceptible cattle within an eight- kilometre radius in the Techiman Municipality and Techiman North District.

He said currently, the Techiman North District had vaccinated 800 cattle and 28 sheep while 1,000 cattle had been vaccinated in the Techiman Municipality.

Dr Gbeddy recommended that with the resurgence of anthrax at the DIF, livestock must be vaccinated annually for the next 20 years or more because the anthrax spore could be active for about 70 years in the soil, even though no further outbreak had been recorded.

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