Laikipia County in bid to halt spread of rabies

Over 4,000 dogs in Laikipia County have been vaccinated against rabies in an effort to halt spread of the disease in the county.

The county administration in collaboration with researchers, veterinarians among other key stakeholders came together to eradicate the disease in an operation dubbed Laikipia Rabies Vaccine Campaign.

Speaking to Citizen Digital, the director of livestock and fisheries for Laikipia County, Dr Daniel Thuo, said the two-week exercise that targeted Laikipia North, Laikipia East and Laikipia West Sub Counties was aimed at eradicating diseases and deaths caused by rabies.

Dr Thuo who was speaking at Thome Village in Rumurui division noted that Laikipia County has had numerous cases of rabies in the past two years,

“There have been so many cases of rabies in the county. In 2014 we lost three school children to rabies and last year we had a case where 11 people were attacked by a rabid hyena, that is why we’ve seen the need to fight this disease by vaccinating all the dogs in the region,” he said.

He also noted that dogs contribute to 99 per cent of rabies cases, adding that about 2,000 Kenyans die from rabies annually.

Dedan Ngatia, a researcher from Karatina University who also headed the exercise urged residents to report such cases to relevant authorities in order enable quick response and control of the disease.

“Anyone who has been bitten by an animal, or may have been exposed to rabies should clean the wound and see a doctor immediately,” he advised.

The exercise that was also aimed at educating residents on how to identify rabid dogs ended Sunday October 2.