Bite of concern

doweshowbellyad=0; Take medical help immediately in case of a dog bite (TOI Photo)The main objective of celebrating the World Rabies Day is to raise global awareness about the deadly disease and its prevention.
Rabies can be transmitted by various animals. And, it is a deadly disease that can prove to be fatal for a human being. Today, September 8, is World Rabies Day and city animal welfare organisations are taking this opportunity to spread awareness about this deadly disease.
Dr Arun Aher, veterinary physician and surgeon, Blue Cross Society of Pune, says, “This day is celebrated by the Association for Prevention and Control of Rabies. The main objective of celebrating the day is to raise global awareness about the deadly disease and its prevention. Also, the idea is to promote education in local communities for the control and prevention of rabies. It’s all about understanding the risk of rabies, how to prevent it, as well as to mobilise and coordinate resources for human rabies prevention and animal rabies control.”
As half the rabies cases are found in children who are under 15, creating awareness amongst young children about the disease and its repercussions is a must, feels Dr Aher. “On this day, we are going to organise rabies awareness programmes in schools and all over the city, to educate people about how rabies can be controlled. It’s a 100 per cent preventable disease and we can stop it by vaccination and sterilisation of the animals, as well as by taking anti-rabies shots,” he adds.
The saying ‘prevention is better than cure,’ holds true in case of rabies. Dr Vinay Gorhe, a vet, says, “Once rabies sets in the body, there is no cure. Death is inevitable. As prevention is important, it is imperative to give anti- rabies vaccines to your pet every year. Plus, handling unknown dogs can be very dangerous, it should be avoided. If bitten or attacked by an unknown dog, one should always go for a post-bite schedule. Even if another dog bites your pet dog, going for a post bite vaccine is very important.”
Dr Sucheta Vishwananthan, founder of Animal Farm Animal Rescue Centre says, “We have vaccinated 120 dogs and 30 cats at our shelter near Wagholi and plan to spread awareness among the pet owners in the surrounding area about rabies. “Taking rabies vaccines used to be very a painful and difficult affair earlier. That was the reason many people were scared of getting vaccinated. But now, the new rabies vaccine is a very simple injection and it is very effective as well. Earlier, they used to give the injection in the stomach. But, it can be taken in the arm now. So, those who are afraid to take the vaccine needn’t panic,” says Dr Vishwananthan. That’s good news for all.