DF has a mobile vaccination campaign against rabies

To improve vaccination coverage against rabies in dogs and cats, the Federal District Health Department is conducting an expanded and itinerant anti-rabies vaccination campaign this year involving condominiums, rural communities and rural communities. urban areas. The complete list of days and places where immunization takes place can be found here.

The doses will be distributed from Monday to Friday during the months of July, August and September. Until 2017, the immunization against rabies in animals was done only on weekends.

The so-called D-day, date of concentration of vaccination efforts, will take place in two editions: July 21 and September 29 for urban areas and August 25 in rural areas. More than 80 posts must be available for vaccination on these dates. The list of sites will be published later

By 2018, the Federal District Health Department plans to vaccinate about 270,000 dogs and cats – 80% of the target population. The estimated population of these animals in the Federal District is about 340,000.

Disease

Rabies is a 100% lethal disease for humans. The virus is transmitted from the animal to humans, mainly by the bite. Dogs and cats are the main transmitters of the disease.

The only case of human rabies in the Federal District was recorded in 1978. The last occurrences in dogs and cats were identified in 2000 and 2001 respectively.

Among the clinical signs of the disease, it is possible to point out that dogs become more aggressive, biting people, animals and objects, or they become sad, looking for dark places. The barking becomes different from the usual; the animal tends to have an open mouth, with a lot of salivation, refuses water and food and has trouble swallowing. There is also a lack of motor coordination; convulsion; and paralysis of the hind legs

In case of suspicion of the disease, it is important to let the animal under observation for ten days, in a safe place, to avoid running or attacking people or other animals. He should normally receive water and food. If it is not possible to observe the animal at home, the orientation is to refer it to the kennel of the Environmental Health Monitoring Board.

Edition: Maria Claudia