RAJSHAHI, Feb 7, 2019 (BSS)-Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) is going to
launch a hectic campaign to make the city free from hydrophobia very soon.
As part of the move, the RCC will observe a five-day Mass Dog Vaccination
(MDV) campaign from February 10 with the main thrust of eliminating
hydrophobia by 2022.
The city corporation has already done an animal micro-planning to make the
campaign a total success.
The RCC authorities revealed this information at a daylong advocacy
workshop held in its conference hall here on Wednesday.
The city corporation organized the workshop in association with
Communicable Disease Control Operation Plan under the Directorate General of
Health Services (DGHS).
Chief health officer of RCC Dr AFM Anzuman Ara Begum and deputy programme
manager of Zoonotic Disease Control Programme in DGHS Dr Umme Rumman Siddiqui
presented two separate keynote papers depicting causes of the disease along
with its preventive and precautionary measures.
Chaired by RCC Panel Mayor Shariful Islam Babu, the meeting was addressed,
among others, by DGHS Director Prof Dr Sania Tahmina, RCC Chief Executive
Officer Rejaul Karim, divisional director of Health Dr Gopendra Nath Acharya,
Civil Surgeon Dr Sanjit Kumar Saha and District Livestock Officer Dr Zulfikar
Akter Hossain.
The health experts unanimously emphasised the need for creating mass
awareness to prevent hydrophobia. They also put stress on conducting a
massive dog vaccination campaign to control rabies virus.
Prof Sania Tahmina said an immense vaccination programme can reduce
reproduction of dogs to a greater extent and break the cycle of rabies
transmission to human bodies.
She added that the government has a massive plan to eliminate rabies by
2022.
A large number of representatives from different government and non-
government organisations joined the meeting.