FCTA Targets Up to 20,000 Dogs in Rabies Vaccination Drive

The Federal Capital Territory Administration is targeting up to 20,000 dogs in a mass rabies vaccination campaign across Abuja’s 62 wards and six area councils. The two-week exercise follows outbreaks in the Gwagwalada and Kuje area councils.

Abdullahi Suleiman Ango, secretary of the FCTA’s Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat, said officials aimed to vaccinate between 15,000 and 20,000 dogs. More than 100 experienced veterinary officers are working in the field, which he said should be enough to cover the territory within two weeks.

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Our target is 15,000 to 20,000 dogs. We have the firm conviction that with this, we are going to stop whatever we are scared or afraid is going to happen.

Ango said direct field supervision would help officials assess the campaign and protect the integrity of the data collected. He added that no further rabies outbreaks had been recorded in the FCT after the initial cases in Gwagwalada and Kuje.

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Rabies is a deadly disease. If a rabid dog bites a human and post-exposure treatment is not administered immediately, death is inevitable once clinical symptoms manifest.

The Director of Veterinary Services, Dr. Karnak Dandam, said more than 100 veterinary personnel had been deployed, along with an initial supply of 12,000 vaccine doses. “Rabies is a deadly disease. If a rabid dog bites a human and post-exposure treatment is not administered immediately, death is inevitable once clinical symptoms manifest,” Dandam said.

He added that the disease is “100 percent preventable” when dogs, its primary vectors, receive vaccination. Officials said the campaign’s focus on dogs is intended to eliminate the risk of transmission to people.

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100 percent preventable