The Federal Government has expressed determination to ensure that the country was free of dog- mediated human rabies to achieve zero rabies target by 2030.
Speaking at a workshop in Abuja, to validate a National Strategic Plan for Elimination of Dog Mediated Human Rabies in Nigeria, Maimuna Habib, the Chief Veterinary Officer of Nigeria, said the target was a global agenda.
Habib, who is also the Director of Veterinary and Pest Control Services, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that rabies was one of the deadliest zoonosis in the world.
She was represented by Chief Veterinary Officer, Animal Health Division Peter Umanah.
She said that the virus was caused by neurotropic RNA virus of the genus Lyssavirus.
Habib said that dogs were the main reservoir of the diseases and remained the commonest 99 per cent means of transmission to humans. Also, Deputy Project Director, Risk Communication Breakthrough ACTION Nigeria BA-N, Olayinka Umar Farouk, said the scourge of rabies in Nigeria is one that is preventable.
