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            Kenya Targets Dogs in Ambitious Plan to Eradicate Rabies

   by Hilary Heuler

   Kenya is the first African country to embark on an ambitious program to
   completely eliminate rabies by vaccinating the country's dogs. Other
   African countries are watching closely to see whether a disease that
   kills thousands every year could actually be wiped off the continent
   altogether.

   To many people, rabies is the stuff of nightmares, but Jean Gilchrist
   knows it intimately. She has been bitten by rabid dogs four times, and
   knows exactly what to look for.

   "There's the furious type, where the dog's running rampant and biting
   everybody and everything, which is very dangerous. And then there's the
   dumb rabies, where the dog is basically very quiet. They start getting
   slowly paralyzed," said Gilchrist.

   Gilchrist runs the Kenya Society for the Protection and Care of Animals
   (KSPCA) in Nairobi, which shelters more than 100 homeless dogs and
   regularly sees cases of rabies.

   But that may not be the situation for long. A new initiative by the
   Kenyan government aims to completely eliminate rabies by 2030 by
   vaccinating 70% of Kenyan dogs every year for three years in a row.

   Austine Bitek of the Zoonotic Disease Unit, who heads the project, said
   rabies is finally getting the attention it deserves.

   "This is a disease which has been neglected for a long time, and
   currently we estimate [that] between 1,000 to 2,000 human deaths occur
   annually in Kenya. For that reason it has been ranked as one of the
   priority zoonotic diseases which have been earmarked for prevention and
   control," said Bitek.

   Rabies is difficult to treat in humans as early symptoms are similar to
   flu. By the time telltale rabies effects appear some days later - such
   as confusion, hallucinations and agitation - it is too late to treat.
   The disease is almost always fatal.

   If the initiative works, Kenya will be the first African country to
   eradicate rabies. Bitek said neighboring countries are watching and may
   replicate the strategy if it succeeds.

   As in most of Africa, rabies control in Kenya used to focus on simply
   culling dogs. Often, said Gilchrist, this involved killing every dog
   found on the street.

   "They poison them with strychnine, which is not nice - that's the
   Veterinary Department - though they're trying to get away from that
   now. They have realized that this is not a good thing. It doesn't do
   any good, and in the long run does not reduce the population,"
   Gilchrist said.

   As well as being cruel, Bitek argues dog culls are ineffective in
   controlling rabies. Mass vaccination, on the other hand, has been
   successfully trialed in parts of South Africa, Tanzania and the
   Philippines. He said it has been shown to bring rabies levels down to
   nearly zero.

   There are millions of dogs in Kenya, and reaching 70% will be
   difficult, especially in rural areas where dogs tend to run wild. Most
   dogs never get any vaccinations at all, according to Gilchrist.

   "The vast majority have nothing. I think people are becoming more aware
   now, but it's not in the tradition to spend money on a dog," said
   Gilchrist.

   But even if they look and act like strays, Bitek said, most of the dogs
   do belong to somebody.

   "Some of the research findings show that most of the dogs are usually
   owned, so it essentially means they are accessible for vaccination.
   It's only that most of the owners are not able to provide for them, so
   they are just left to fend for themselves," said Bitek.

   Kenyans are worried about rabies, he said, and he thinks most will
   bring their dogs to public health workers when they visit. Once enough
   funding is secured, he plans to send vaccination teams out to five
   pilot counties, eventually reaching every town, village and farm in the
   country.

   If they succeed it would be a wonderful thing, says Gilchrist, both for
   Kenya's humans and their four-legged friends.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/kenya-targets-dogs-in-ambitious-plan-
   to-eradicate-rabies/2565492.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/kenya-targets-dogs-in-ambitious-plan-to-eradicate-rabies/2565492.html