A leading global pharmaceutical firm is currently assisting towards the elimination of rabies in Kenya by vaccinating dogs in various counties.
Speaking in Nairobi, Boehringer Ingelheim regional sales manager (sub-Saharan Africa East), Dr Joseph Kipkemoi says the company last year vaccinated 20,000 stray and domestic dogs in Bomet and Bungoma counties and plans to vaccinate another 30,000 dogs by the end of this year in the two counties.
“Boehringern Ingelheim—in collaboration with Zipline—is successfully using drones in the delivery of vaccines to the two counties and we plan to include two other counties once we complete ongoing logistics…
“Experts have identified dog vaccination as a cheaper option compared to treatment as it costs $180 to treat one person against rabies,” Dr Kipkemoi noted.
According to experts, rabies is a neglected zoonotic disease which is almost invariably fatal in humans, livestock and other mammals.
In Kenya, rabies has been ranked as one of the top five priority zoonotic diseases with the goal of eliminating human dog-mediated rabies in the country.
Nairobi, Mombasa and Western Kenya have been identified as some of the rabies endemic regions in the country.
Success in rabies elimination has been demonstrated in developed countries including Latin America and Asia, where sustained mass vaccination of dogs has shown to be the single most cost-effective intervention to control and eliminate canine rabies and consequently human rabies.
Globally, every nine minutes, one person dies from Rabies. It is estimated that up to 2,000 human deaths due to rabies occur in Kenya annually while up to 60,000 people are killed by the disease globally every year, most of them (95 per cent) in Africa and Asia.
Children between five years and 14 years are the most vulnerable demographics, accounting for 4o per cent of rabies deaths globally.
Rabies is responsible for $8.6 billion in economic losses globally each year due to medical costs, lost productivity, and livestock deaths.
Dr Kipkemoi observes: “While rabies is incurable, it is very much preventable…
“Our ongoing campaign aims at assisting Kenya’s path towards achieving zero deaths by 2030,”.
He added:”Vaccinated dogs protect the communities in which they live from the threat of rabies, and with sustained vaccination over multiple years, the disease can be eliminated,”.
Rabies outbreaks, Dr Kipkemoi noted, have been reported in Nairobi, Kajiado and Western region particularly in the last three months.
Dr Kipkemoi identified initial symptoms of rabies may be similar to the flu, such as fever, pain and unusual or unexplained tingling, pricking, or burning sensations at the wound site.
“Others are hyperactivity, excitable behaviour, hallucinations, lack of coordination, hydrophobia (fear of water) and aerophobia (fear of drafts or fresh air),”.
Dr Kipkemoi, who is also a Vet, describes rabies as a deadly virus that attacks the brain and nervous system and is transmitted through the saliva of infected animals, usually by bites or scratches.
“Rabies is nearly always fatal if not accorded timely treatment…
“It infects all mammals, including dogs, cats, livestock including cows, sheep, donkeys, and wildlife such as bats, foxes, and raccoons. Animals show aggressive behaviour before succumbing to the disease.”.
Dr Kipkemoi identified inadequate laboratory capacity, inadequate surveillance as well as inadequate inter-sectoral collaboration and partnerships as some of the challenges Kenya faces in the elimination of rabies.
“Others include lack of national guidelines on rabies prevention control, low awareness on the disease a limited supply of anti-rabies vaccine as well as funding constraints,”.
