By Alusine S.Kargbo (A.S.K)
The Secretary General of the National Rabbis Task Force Mr. Mohamed S. Bah who also doubles as Programme manager of the Animal Welfare Society has revealed in an Executive Interview with this medium that the over two million seven hundred dogs in Sierra Leone contribute to one hundred and five deaths annually case of which on 28th September 2022, Sierra Leone will observe the World Rabbis day with a lot of activities line up to sensitize the general public about the danger that lies ahead.
Mr. Bah said in Bo in the south of the country, over four thousand turn out at a general meeting held to educate the general public about the ills of rabbis and the necessary preventives to be taken when falling victim.
He said there are already five thousand vaccines in the country although they are not enough; more are expected in the not-too-distant future.
He said the National Rabbis Tasks Force in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Sanitation and the Agriculture and partly sponsored by the US Embassy has gone a long way to sensitize the general public and thanks to the close cooperation of other government institutions notably parliament, new laws are underway to ensure that dogs are vaccinated against rabbis. He said 1949, 51, and 53 were very challenging years in the fight against rabbis since then we have been operating on norms unlike now when a legal framework has been reached to achieve success.
He says dogs who are infected with rabbis could easily be detected by refusing to eat and even difficult to drink water. He said humans contract the disease through dog bites, leaks from dogs, and broken skin.
In his contribution, the National Programme Manager for the National Rabbis Task Force Mr. John Idriss Koroma said, unlike before, They can be proud of full community participation in creating awareness for the people; he said dog bite is even more than Ebola as it kills in less than 10 seconds.
