Acting Kaputa Town Council, Council Secretary, Ernest Kasonde has called for intensive sensitization on dog vaccination in the district if the district is to prevent an outbreak of rabies.

Mr Kasonde called on the decentralized Veterinary Department to work with other stakeholders and make the vaccination message reach dog owners in the district.

ZANIS reports that the Acting Kaputa Town Council Secretary was speaking during a stakeholders meeting held to discuss the dog vaccination exercise and the incoming dog cropping in Kaputa.

And Kaputa District Health Director Jonathan Bwalya explained that rabies is a deadly disease that can cause death if not properly handled.

Dr. Bwalya said a person bitten by a rabid dog is likely to die once they start manifesting symptoms and that there is a need to take the vaccination exercise seriously. 

Meanwhile, Assistant Council Public Relations Officer Stella Shonga also called on dog owners to bring their dogs for vaccination and cooperate with officers during the cropping exercise.

And stakeholders who attended the meeting suggested that the Veterinary Department should ensure that over 70 percent of the dog population in Kaputa is vaccinated by next year.

Further, they recommended that the vaccination exercise needs to be an ongoing exercise to minimize the risk posed by rabies.