Mayhew Afghanistan, a branch of UK animal charity Mayhew, has announced ahead of that there have been “no recorded canine-mediated rabies deaths in humans for the past 18 months in Kabul”.
Mayhew Afghanistan’s was launched in August 2017, and has since vaccinated 95,000 dogs in sixteen of the city’s districts. Prior to 2017, on average there were 38 recorded human deaths each year from canine-mediated rabies in the city, and the culling of street dogs was a common countermeasure.
“The vaccination team, comprising Mayhew Afghanistan vets and a team of Kabul Municipality dog-catchers, who are trained in humane catching methods by Mayhew, work systematically across the sixteen districts of Kabul catching the dogs, vaccinating them and marking them with a dash of non-toxic paint before releasing them,” a Mayhew statement says.
“In order to break the chain of the rabies virus transmission, the benchmark is that a minimum of 70% of the dog population in any one area is vaccinated before moving on to the next area. Post-vaccination surveys are carried out to count the dogs marked with the paint and cross-checked against the dog population survey carried out earlier to meet this threshold.”
Plans are currently underway for the programme to be rolled out to six remaining outlying districts of Kabul. A community outreach programmes is also raising awareness among locals, particularly children, on dog bite prevention.
Mayhew’s team in Afghanistan should feel very proud of their achievements
Caroline Yates, Head of International Projects and Relations at Mayhew, said, “Since it first began five years ago, our rabies vaccination programme in Kabul, the first of its kind for Afghanistan and devised by Mayhew Afghanistan’s Country Director, Dr Abdul-Jalil Mohammadzai DVM, has raised the profile of the country’s struggle with rabies, this neglected yet endemic disease, with leading organisations involved in the fight against rabies.
“Dr. Mo, as he is affectionately known, convinced the Kabul authorities to stop the culling of dogs and has helped initiate this life-saving programme for dogs and people. As a result, Mayhew is proud to be part of WHO/WOAH’s overall strategy to eliminate canine-mediated rabies by 2030, ‘Zero by 2030’.”
She added, “It is vital that people understand the importance of rabies control for the health and safety of humans and animals. This is a disease which is 100% preventable, and mass vaccination of dogs is a proven method of reaching that goal, as well as being the most cost-effective.
“As in many of the world’s poorer countries, where rabies in endemic, Kabul’s residents are frequently unable to access rabies vaccinations or post-prophylaxis treatment if bitten by a dog, either because the vaccines are unavailable, or in most cases, unaffordable. Fear of this fatal disease leads governments to introduce culling of dogs which is ineffective and does nothing to prevent the transmission of the disease or control the population.
“The large number of vaccinated dogs and the fact there have been no canine-mediated rabies deaths in humans for 18 months, proves the campaign is working. As we approach World Rabies Day on 28 September, with this year’s theme of ‘One health, zero deaths’ in mind, Mayhew’s team in Afghanistan should feel very proud of their achievements.”