Rabies outbreak: Tema west Municipality tops reported cases
Reported Rabies Cases is on the increase within the Tema West Municipality in the Greater Accra Region with a call for holistic effort to combat the challenge.
Dr Emmanuel Kwao Pecku, the Veterinary Officer in-charge of Tema West Municipality, Tema Metropolitan area and Kpone -Katamanso Municipal stated during interaction with the Ghana News Agency in Tema that, over 115 suspected cases of rabies were recorded within the Tema West Municipality.
Dr Pecku stated that the Rabies infection was prevalent in Tema Community Five and four confirmed cases were recorded as others were being monitored by Veterinary Officers.
According to him, the situation looked dire and it was time Stakeholders paid critical attention to the existing trend of infections within the Tema West Municipality.
He said the infections could be 100 percent fatal when an infected person failed to seek early medical attention adding, that the surest way to break the rabies chain was to vaccinate the pets to gain immunity against the disease.
He said his outfit had embarked on mass vaccination of animals, which included; Monkeys, Cats and Dogs within the Kpone-Katamanso Municipality where according to him some suspected cases had been recorded.
Dr. Pecku hinted that the Kpone-Katamanso Municipal Assembly, Tema Metropolitan Assembly and the Tema West Municipal Assembly had lent their unflinching support to ensure residents vaccinate their pets at a considerably reduced cost.
“We charge only GH¢5.00 per jab,” he said and advised residents who could not vaccinate their pets during the mass vaccination to send them to designated veterinary points within their various communities,” he said.
The mass vaccination against the Rabies outbreak currently ongoing in Kpone-Katamanso would soon be replicated in Tema Metropolitan Area, and the Tema West Municipal Assembly the exercise was expected to end in October 2021.