The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has commenced a territory-wide free rabies vaccination campaign, targeting between 15,000 and 20,000 dogs and cats in a two-week exercise aimed at containing and ultimately eliminating the deadly virus in the FCT.
The exercise, being implemented through the Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat, covers communities across the six area councils of the territory, following the confirmation of rabies cases in Gwagwalada and Kwali.
Monitoring the exercise in Gwagwalada on Wednesday, the Mandate Secretary of the secretariat, Mr Sulieman Ango, said the campaign was designed to establish a protective barrier against further transmission of the virus.
Ango said the intervention followed the detection of localised cases in Gwagwalada and Kwali, stressing that no additional cases had been recorded outside the two affected area councils.
He said the administration was determined to halt the spread of rabies through an aggressive vaccination programme, with more than 100 veterinary officers mobilised to strategic locations across the territory.
“We have the firm conviction that by vaccinating 15,000 to 20,000 dogs and cats, we are going to stop the spread of the virus.
“From what we have recorded so far, two weeks is sufficient time for our team to cover this scope,” he said.
The mandate secretary attributed the swift response to the support and prompt approval of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, which he said enabled the veterinary authorities to deploy resources rapidly to the affected communities.
Ango also stressed the importance of personally monitoring the exercise, saying that physical oversight was necessary to ensure the vaccination programme achieved its intended objective.
He commended the veterinary team for its rapid response and urged residents not to panic but to cooperate with officials by presenting their dogs and cats for vaccination.
“Everybody should remain calm; the government is there for them. With our minister at the helm of affairs, residents do not need to be scared of anything,” he said.
According to him, the vaccination exercise will continue daily at designated centres across the six area councils for the duration of the campaign.
The director of Veterinary Services, Dr Karnak Dandam, said the vaccination programme was aimed at protecting animals and humans across all 62 wards of the FCT.
Dandam described rabies as a 100 per cent fatal disease once clinical symptoms develop in an infected human being, but stressed that the disease was entirely preventable through timely vaccination of animals.
“Rabies is a very deadly disease. Once a rabid dog bites a human being and the clinical signs set in, there is no survival, but it is 100 per cent preventable once the dogs are vaccinated.
“Even if a vaccinated dog bites you, you are safe from rabies,” he said.
He disclosed that some communities had already commenced local vaccination initiatives before the territory-wide exercise was launched.
According to him, Kuje Area Council began its own vaccination drive following reports of the initial outbreak, while the Bassa community also partnered with the Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat to secure vaccines for local animals.
Dandam said veterinary officers were subsequently deployed to Bassa to administer the vaccines.
He expressed confidence that the available vaccine stock would be sufficient to meet the target of the two-week campaign, disclosing that more than 12,000 doses had already been made available.
