The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has commenced a two-week free rabies vaccination campaign targeting between 15,000 and 20,000 dogs and cats across the territory.
The exercise, being implemented by the Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat, is aimed at containing the spread of rabies following reported cases in Gwagwalada and Kwali Area Councils.
The Mandate Secretary of the Secretariat, Mr Sulieman Ango, disclosed this on Wednesday while monitoring the vaccination exercise in Gwagwalada.
Ango said more than 100 veterinary officers had been deployed to key locations across the FCT to ensure effective implementation of the campaign.
He said the exercise was designed to provide wider protection against the virus, stressing that no new cases had been reported outside Gwagwalada and Kwali, where cases were initially identified.
“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.
Ango said physical monitoring of the exercise was necessary to ensure that the vaccination programme was properly implemented and achieved its intended purpose.
He also attributed the prompt response to the outbreak to the approval and support of the FCT Minister, Mr Nyesom Wike, which he said enabled the secretariat to deploy resources to affected communities.
The mandate secretary urged residents to remain calm and cooperate with veterinary officers deployed to various communities.
“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.
Ango added that the vaccination exercise would continue daily at designated centres across the six area councils of the FCT throughout the two-week campaign.
The Director of Veterinary Services, Dr Karnak Dandam, said the territory-wide campaign was designed to cover all 62 wards in the FCT.
Dandam described rabies as a fatal disease once clinical symptoms appear, but said it could be prevented through the vaccination of dogs and other susceptible 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 percent preventable once the dogs are vaccinated,” he said.
He urged dog and cat owners to take advantage of the free vaccination exercise to protect their animals and help prevent transmission of the virus.
Dandam said some communities had taken early measures to vaccinate animals following reports of the outbreak.
He disclosed that Kuje Area Council had commenced local vaccination efforts, while Bassa village had also partnered with the secretariat to administer vaccines to animals in the community.
According to him, more than 12,000 doses of rabies vaccine were currently available for the exercise, with veterinary teams working continuously to vaccinate owned and stray dogs.
Some residents who benefited from the exercise in Gwagwalada commended the FCTA for the free vaccination programme.
One of them, Mr Nathan Yusuf, who brought his dogs for their first rabies vaccination, expressed satisfaction with the exercise.
Similarly, Mr Bashir Yusuf, a local hunter who presented three dogs for vaccination, commended the FCTA for providing free veterinary services to residents.
The FCTA had on July 15 confirmed eight cases of rabies and two deaths in the territory and urged residents to vaccinate their dogs and cats to prevent further spread of the disease.
The administration subsequently announced plans for a mass vaccination exercise covering villages and towns across the six area councils of the FCT.
