Rabies hits rural Shurugwi

Chief Nhema confirmed the development and said they had put down at least four dogs which showed signs of being infected with rabies.

“Infected dogs are biting other dogs and we are killing all the animals that we suspect have rabies. We cannot watch the number of dogs affected by the disease multiply because there is a danger that the animals will end biting and infecting people,” said Chief Nhema.

He said since the outbreak of the disease two weeks ago, no human being had been bitten by the stray dogs.

“I am aware of more than 10 cases of rabies in my area and these include Gozo, Goreraza, Pfundira and Ganje villages,” he said, adding that he had held meetings with members of his community to encourage people to take their animals for vaccination.

He said villagers under his jurisdiction were sometimes reluctant to take the animals to the veterinary offices for vaccination as they have travel a long a distance.

“The veterinary offices is located over five kilometres away from here. We have however notified them (veterinary office) of our challenge and we hope that we are going to be assisted as soon as possible,” he said.

Efforts to get a comment from the vets department in the area were futile as the responsible officer, identified as Patience Mudzengi was not available on her phone.

Rabies is a preventable viral disease mostly transmitted through the bite of a rabid animal and usually affects dogs, cats, cattle and hyenas, among other animals.

In 2012, Veterinary for Animal Welfare Zimbabwe said over 11,000 people had been bitten by dogs while 11 people died from rabies.

The organisation encourages that citizens should vaccinate their pets and urges members of the public to avoid stray dogs, and report them to the nearest veterinary offices when they see them.

Symptoms of a rabies infection in humans may include seizures, partial paralysis, fever and brain inflammation and there is no known treatment for the disease once the infection has taken hold.