FCTA targets 20,000 dogs, cats for rabies vaccination

The Federal Capital Territory Administration has begun a two-week campaign to vaccinate as many as 20,000 dogs and cats across Abuja after rabies cases were reported in parts of the territory.

The Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat is coordinating the exercise, which will cover all 62 wards in the FCT’s six area councils. More than 100 veterinary officers have been deployed to strategic locations, and vaccination will take place daily at designated centres.

Mandate Secretary Sulieman Ango said officials believed vaccinating between 15,000 and 20,000 animals would stop the virus from spreading. He said the campaign aimed to prevent cases from moving beyond Gwagwalada and Kwali, where infections had been recorded. No new cases had been detected outside the affected areas after veterinary teams intervened, he said.

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We have the firm conviction that by vaccinating 15,000 to 20,000 dogs and cats, we are going to stop the spread of the virus.

The vaccination is free. Ango urged residents to stay calm and make their dogs and cats available to veterinary officers. The administration also asked residents to vaccinate their animals and report suspected cases to veterinary authorities.

Dr Karnak Dandam, director of veterinary services, described rabies as deadly but preventable. “Once a rabid dog bites a human being and the clinical signs set in, there is no survival, but it is 100 per cent preventable once the dogs are vaccinated,” he said. The FCTA confirmed eight rabies cases and two deaths in the territory on July 15 before announcing plans for the mass campaign.

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Once a rabid dog bites a human being and the clinical signs set in, there is no survival, but it is 100 per cent preventable once the dogs are vaccinated.