The state of Goa has been declared a “rabies controlled” area, the first for any state in India as it has recorded no cases of a human getting infected with rabies since September 2017. The declaration marks success for a multi-year effort put up by volunteers of the charity organization Mission Rabies along with funding provided by the Goa government.
According to the website of Mission Rabies, “The declaration means that the state government has control of the rabies virus, in both humans and dogs, and now has the authority to enforce dog vaccination and reporting of suspect rabies cases”.
The effort involved over 500 volunteer vets who came from 16 countries. Since 2013, over 540,593 rabies vaccine doses have been administered to dogs and 1 million people were educated on the prevention of dog bites. Other supportive measures included establishing 24-hour rabies surveillance, a rapid response team, and a support team for dog bite victims, according to a blog post on missionrabies.com.
According to a report by hindustantimes.com, The state government cooperated with the organization’s effort by funding the entire exercise. An amount of Rs 1.65 crore was incurred by the government, over a period of three years, to procure syringes and test kits and to provide for salaries and lab charges.
The effort was appreciated by Goa’s CM Dr. Pramod Sawant. “Goa has proved that it is possible to control rabies and has created a model,” he said in a tweet.
Goa has proved that it is possible to control rabies and has created a model. Being a Rabies Controlled Area is a huge achievement for Goa. I congratulate the Department Of Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Services and the Mission Rabies team for the success. pic.twitter.com/sTBzSc3cV6
— Dr. Pramod Sawant (@DrPramodPSawant) June 23, 2021
Highlighting the seriousness of the disease, the Indian Director of Mission Rabies Murugan Appupillai told hindustantimes.com that India recorded more than 20,000 deaths due to rabies every year which is the highest in the world.
The next target for Goa is to become the first rabies-free state in the country. A challenge it faces is the continued spread of rabies among dogs. A three-fold increase was observed last year with the state recording 24 cases of rabies in dogs. Appupillai told hindustantimes.com that over 70% of dogs would need to be vaccinated to ensure herd immunity against rabies.
