Siaya County government through the Department of Agriculture has kicked off a one-week rabies vaccination exercise which targets over 12,000 animals in the region.
According to the Rabies Elimination Coordinator for Siaya County Dr. Mark Otieno, they have organized the vaccination exercise following rabies and dog bite cases which were discovered in parts of Bondo, Rarieda, Alego/Usonga and Gem sub-counties.
He said that in order to contain the spread of the deadly disease, their target is to vaccinate at least 70% of the dogs and cats in the respective sub-counties within the one-week period.
The Veterinary Officer told KNA that the vaccination exercise kicked off in Bondo sub-county where they managed to vaccinate over 2,500 dogs and cats against their target of 3,000.
Dr. Otieno stated that the exercise, would today proceed to Alego/Usonga sub-county where they were also targeting 3,000 dogs and cats before moving to Gem and Rarieda sub-counties.
He stated that rabies vaccination exercise would be conducted for free and therefore urged the residents from the four sub-counties to ensure they bring their pets including dogs and cats for inoculation to avert a possible spread of rabies across the region.
The Veterinary officer has at the same time encouraged the residents to be seeking immediate treatment whenever they were bitten by dogs, warning that rabies is deadly and could kill very fast if no proper treatment is administered.
By Brian Ondeng
