September to be rabies prevention month

September will be observed as Rabies Prevention month and an intensive month-long campaign to vaccinate dogs will be officially kicked off on September 20, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said.

Many local bodies in the State have already started vaccinating dogs and the intensive vaccination drive will continue till October 20.

Addressing a press conference here on Friday, Mr. Vijayan said the government was evolving very practical and scientific solutions for tackling stray dog menace and the threat of rabies. He also said the public should take a proactive approach towards the issue and support the local bodies and the government in managing the problem.

However, killing stray dogs indiscriminately was not a solution for the current problem of rabies and it was not acceptable at all, Mr. Vijayan said.

Those who were keeping pet dogs at home should take up the full responsibility of their pets and not leave them on the streets when it was not convenient for them to rear them, he added.

Registration of pet dogs would be made mandatory in the State. In grama panchayat areas, the application for registration of pet dogs may be submitted via the integrated local self-government management system (ILGMS) portal. The panchayat would issue the registration certificate in three days after vaccinating the dog. All registered dogs should mandatorily have a metal token/collar round the neck, which would be the responsibility of the dog owners.

Careless disposal of food waste on the streets, especially poultry and meat waste, should stop immediately, as the continuous supply of these seemed to be a reason for the increasing stray dog population.

Local bodies had been asked to call a meeting of restaurants, wayside eateries, butcheries and meat shops and to issue strict directives on how the animal wastes should be disposed, Mr. Vijayan said.

Local bodies had also been asked to pool funds and to set up shelters for stray dogs to keep them off the streets and to resume the animal birth control programme, by roping in the services of more veterinarians and animal handlers on contract basis.

There were 21 human rabies deaths in the State this year, of which, 15 deaths occurred because the animal bite victims were unvaccinated.

The government had already engaged an expert committee to look into all aspects of the deaths of five persons who had died despite receiving the rabies vaccine and immunoglobulin serum as per the prescribed regimen, Mr. Vijayan said. One person was only partially vaccinated.

The expert committee had already completed field-level investigations.