OOTY: While the globe is observing the ‘World Rabies Day’ on Monday to remind the people on this dreaded disease and possible ways to prevent it, the Nilgiris-based India Project for Animal and Nature (IPAN) which had been in the care of dogs and carrying out anti-rabies vaccination programme in the hills and other parts of the country, ventured into African soil this year wherein the IPAN vaccinated around 30,000 dogs.
Over the years the IPAN became the first and main collaborative partner organization of the Dogs Trust (UK and Worldwide Veterinary Service (WVS) and implemented ‘Mission Rabies’ program in India in 2013 when it was launched in India by a month-long mass anti-rabies vaccination drive covering 12 cities across the country.
Since then it had been carrying out the anti-rabies vaccination drive across the country.
While IPAN team helped vaccinating over one lakh dogs in many places across the country in the past two years, this year the opportunity came their way to land in Africa to carry out the anti-rabies vaccination campaign to script new bonds of friendship with Africa in rabies control.
Nigel Otter, Managing Trustee of the IPAN and his wife Dr. Ilona Otter, a veterinarian, and their IPAN team spent a few weeks in Africa about two months ago, where they also participated in a Mission Rabies program in Malawi, an African country.
“Funded by Dogs Trust and in collaboration with WVS (UK) and Blantyre Society for Protection and Care of Animals (BSPCA) the program achieved an amazing 30, 000 vaccinations in just 20 working days.
There is a huge cultural difference between Malawi and India when it comes to rabies vaccination programs for dogs. In Malawi, people will bring their dogs to the pre-announced vaccination points and are ready to queue even for couple of hours to make sure their dogs get the important vaccine. There were eight teams set up at different locations, mostly on primary school grounds, around Blantyre city every day and each team vaccinated on average 600 dogs every day.
The locations were carefully planned in advance based on the dog population survey that Mission Rabies and WVS had carried out before the start of the program” he said.
Thanks to the success of the phase I of the program in Blantyre in Malawi, and the support from ‘Dogs Trust’ as well as from the Malawi government, the program will continue to cover the full Blantyre district as the next step to eradicate rabies from the area, Ms. Otter said.
