DHAKA, May 9, 2019 (BSS) – Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque today said Bangladesh will be a rabies-free country by 2022 as the government has launched vaccine giving campaign for dogs to prevent the disease.
“Rabies is a fatal viral disease which causes death. About 90 percent of rabies is caused by dogs. But we could not kill the dogs as they balance the ecology. We hope it can be eliminated from the country by 2022 through giving vaccine to dogs,” he said.
The minister came up with the remarks while inaugurating the vaccination programme for dogs organized by the Health and Family Welfare Ministry at Krishibid Institution in the city’s Farmgate area, said a press release.
Under the programme, 12.38 lakh dogs were given vaccine across the country and the vaccination campaign for dogs will be carried in the Dhaka north and south city corporations from May 14 to 20, the minister said.
He sought cooperation from all in this regard.
Chaired by Director General of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Professor Dr Abul Kalam Azad, the inaugural function was addressed, among others, by Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Md Atiqul Islam, State Minister for Fisheries and Livestock Md Ashraf Ali Khan Khasru, Director General of Department of Livestock Services Dr Hiresh Ranjan Bhowmik and noted writer Syed Abul Maksud.