Director General Extension Livestock Dairy Development Department Dr Muhammad Irfan Zahid said that 'rabies is a killer disease which is being caused by 90 per cent dog bite around the globe but it can be prevented through proper vaccination.
Speaking at an inaugural session of one-day national workshop on "The awareness and field test for diagnosis of rabies" organised by UVAS department of epidemiology and public health and sponsored by Higher Education Commission (HEC). He stressed the need that all government departments should evolve multidisciplinary strategy in order to create awareness among general public.
Vice-Chancellor UVAS Professor Dr Talat Naseer Pasha has urged the veterinarian, medical doctors, scientists and researcher to join hand and launch concerted efforts to eliminate rabies. Pasha said that rabies as one of the most lethal zoonotic or animal-transmitted diseases, killing more people each year than Sars, H5N1 and Dengue fever, combined. Professor Pasha said that university is making outstanding efforts to ensure the quality of food and feed. For this purpose, two university's labs accredited internationally.
He said that to ensure the quality of milk it has developed milk adulteration kit and having feed analysis facilities in this regard. UVAS dean faculty of veterinary sciences Professor Dr Nasim Ahmad said that rabies virus is widespread in much of the world except Australia and New Zealand. He said that 'rabies is certainly fatal if post-exposure prophylaxis (anti-rabies) vaccination is not administered prior to the onset of severe symptoms. The rabies virus infects the central nervous system eventually causing disease in the brain and death'.
Chairman department of epidemiology and public health Professor Dr Muhammad Athar Khan said 95 percent of human cases are caused by bites from infected dogs are being reported in Pakistan. These cases are preventable through proper vaccination of pet and feral dogs. He added that 20,000 deaths took place in India annually. Professor Dr Athar Khan urged the comedian actors to play their due role to promote rabies prevention and awareness for the sake of remote areas. He also suggested that dog vaccination programmes have been carried out in conjunction with an improvement in educational awareness and availability of human vaccines; deaths from rabies have been reduced to zero.