“I have lost 3 of my Donkeys which were suffering from Rabies, this is due to lack of the vaccine in my area”, said Festus Wambua a farmer from Mbukuni village, Machakos constituency, Machakos County.
Wambua who had brought his remaining Donkeys to be vaccinated in an event organized by Machakos county government, national government and other stakeholders led by International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI).
Though he welcomed the move, he calls upon the government to do more in eradicating Rabies in the area as the cases are high.
Wambua’s words were lauded by Joseph Mutunga a resident in the same area who said that it is expensive to treat victims of Dog bite which are infected by the disease.
“We thank the government for this move but we urge the same government to carry this exercise annually so as to eradicate this disease as we can’t afford to cater for the expenses in treating Rabies. In hospitals the drugs are expensive and it is hard to get the vaccine”, Mutunga urged.
The calls for more efforts towards fighting Rabies in Machakos didn’t end here, Paul Makau a resident said that it is a challenge to treat a patients after a dog bite if the Dog hasn’t been vaccinated.
Makau’s call just like other residents from Machakos feel the concerned offices should come in and assist in eradicating this disease.
We meet Dr. David Waweru, Machakos County Director of Veterinary Services who agreed that Rabies is a major problem in the county.
According to him, a baseline survey which was carried in 2017 showed that there were 259,000 Dogs in the county and for the last 3 years they only managed to vaccinate 25,000 Dogs because they carried out spot vaccination rather than mass vaccination which they are doing this round.
“We are using sweeping method this time, whereby we are taking one Sub-County after the other and for 2 weeks we have managed to vaccinate 3,266 Dogs which is a good number”, said Waweru.
He revealed that Machakos has very many cases of Dog bites but they together with other partners are trying to eradicate the disease which he feels is a burden unto them.
Dr. Bernard Bett, a veterinarian from ILRI, said Machakos County is among the counties which are highly risked in Rabies disease.
“We are working closely so as to eradicate Rabies disease by 2030. As a country we are partnering with other likeminded partners in eradicating this disease”, he said.