Rabies kills 55, 000 Nigerians annually – USAID

Rabies claims about 55, 000 lives every year in Nigeria, with rabid dogs accounting for about 94 per cent of confirmed human infections, Mieko Mckay, USAID Nigeria Deputy Office Director for Health,  has said.

She stated this in Abuja yesterday during the launch of the National Strategic Plan for Elimination of Dog-Mediated Human Rabies in Nigeria organized by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in collaboration with the Federal of Health and Breakthrough ACTION -Nigeria and other partners ahead of this year’s World Rabies Day. 

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Country Representative, World Health Organisation, Walter Mulombo, represented by his deputy, Alexander Chimbaru, said there were recent cases in Gombe and Enugu States. 

The Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development,  Mustapha Shehuri <https://fmard.gov.ng/hms>, said the Plan was developed to help the country in achieving the goal to eliminate dog-mediated rabies by 2030.

Presenting the National Strategic Plan for Elimination of Dog-Mediated Human Rabies in Nigeria, Prof. Junaidu Kabir, Dean, Veterinary  Medicine, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria,  said vaccinating 70 per cent of the population against rabies would enable the country save revenue annually.