GNA – Dr Esther Priscilla Biamah-Danquah, Kpone-Katamanso Municipal Health Director has stated that Kpone recorded 135 dog bites from January to August this year, stressing that the Municipality since 2016 continuous to record increasing cases of dog bites.
The statistics indicate that in 2018, the municipality recorded 271 cases of dog bites; in 2019 the cases moved to 289, but reduced marginally to 243 cases in 2020.
Dr Bamiah-Danquah said this during the celebration of World Rabies Day organized by the Kpone-Katamanso Municipal.
The Kpone Health Director said since September 2020, six rabies cases among dogs were confirmed with 36 contacts among humans traced and one death recorded.
She stated, “I want to remind you that, these are cases reported in our health facility, bearing in mind that, there are a lot more cases within the communities which are unreported”.
She said high incidence of dog bite cases of which most of the dogs had not been vaccinated was one of the major challenges the Municipality was facing.
She said the Ghana Health Service, Veterinary Service, and Environmental Service needed funds and logistics to enhance education on dog bites and rabies.
Dr Danso Fenteng, National Head of Epidemiology said Ghana had recorded 27 outbreaks of rabies this year out of which Kpone-Katamanso had 10 cases.
He said that there was an upsurge of rabies in dogs and humans after the free anti-rabies immunization campaign funded by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), which was implemented by the Veterinary Service Department in 1998.
GNA