The rabies virus is still rampant in Senegal. 45 cases were recorded in animals between January and September 2024, said Friday in Dakar, Doctor Anta Cheikh Guèye, member of the National Order of Veterinary Physicians of Senegal (ONMS).
“The rabies virus is circulating in the country. As proof, between January and September 2024, 45 cases of rabies were recorded in dogs, cattle, goats and horses,” she suggested.
She was speaking during a capacity-building workshop for journalists, as a prelude to the celebration, Saturday in Fatick, of World Rabies Day.
“Breaking the boundaries of rabies” is one of the themes of this commemoration in relation to the disease situation in animals. “Removing obstacles to the elimination of rabies” is the other theme retained, concerning human rabies.
According to Doctor Anta Cheikh Guèye, rabies is endemic in Senegal and poses a major public health problem.
She reported that in 2023, “51 suspicions of rabies had been reported by the regional Livestock directorates, including eight in the Fatick region in dogs, cattle and goats”.
“Of the 51 suspected cases of rabies, 28 were accompanied by samples for which the LNERV”, National Laboratory for Livestock and Veterinary Research, “had confirmed 22 positive cases and six negative, i.e. a positivity rate of 78 .57% recorded in dogs, cattle, goats and equines”, explained Doctor Guèye in the columns of the APS.
To respond to the “challenge” of controlling rabies, “the ministry in charge of Livestock, through the Directorate of Veterinary Services, has undertaken […] vaccination and control of the population of stray dogs which constitute a permanent threat to populations”, as part of the program to strengthen zoo-sanitary protection financed by the Consolidated Investment Budget, she indicated.
She announced that “1469 domestic dogs were vaccinated and 1419 stray dogs eliminated”, through this initiative, before revealing that an Integrated National Rabies Control Program had been developed, but the funding for which was not available. has not yet been completed.
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