On November 13, the Pasteur Institute of Ho Chi Minh City in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) in Vietnam organized a workshop on "Strengthening activities to respond to rabies prevention in humans and animals" in Vung Tau ward, with the participation of representatives of provinces and cities in the Southern region.
According to Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Vu Thuong - Deputy Director of the Pasteur Institute of Ho Chi Minh City, although there are vaccines and many intervention programs, rabies is still complicated, mainly due to people's subjectivity. Over 90% of deaths are related to the belief that domestic dogs are fine with biting, or belief in folk remedies...
Dr. Mgaywa Magafu - Public Health Expert, World Health Organization in Vietnam - said that rabies is still one of the most deadly infectious diseases today, but can be completely prevented if people have access to correct information and timely medical services. Rabies cannot be ruled out if it is only focused on the medical side, but requires the coordination of the inter-sector to be effectively controlled. At the same time, share experiences of some countries such as Europe, Thailand...
Through the discussion, delegates commented that misunderstanding is the biggest barrier to rabies control today, especially in rural areas and the freelance workforce; the reason is due to limited access to information and little attention to vaccination for livestock. At the same time, it is stated that the key solution at present is still full vaccination, proactive monitoring, controlling animal transportation, and raising public awareness.
Mr. Nguyen Huu Thiet - Deputy Head of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine of Ho Chi Minh City - said that Ho Chi Minh City is implementing a comprehensive plan to build a rabies safe zone and aim to have no more rabies deaths by 2030.
In the context of expanding borders, the population reached 13.7 million people and the total herd of dogs and cats was about 310,000, requiring a unified prevention program and covering the entire area. Therefore, Ho Chi Minh City has set goals such as: managing over 90% of dog and cat households; vaccination rate over 90% of the total flock...
At the same time, many solutions are being implemented such as: supporting 100% of vaccine funding and vaccination costs in 54 communes and special zones; Applying dog and cat management software for people to self-declare and control data in real time; Organizing annual mass vaccination campaigns; Organizing diverse propaganda and communication on mass media channels...
