Sudurpaschim: Rabies infection has emerged as a serious issue in the Sudurpaschim Province. A major challenge has been added to public health across the province after rabies began to spread among animals and humans from fox and stray dog bites.
According to National News Agency Nepal, Naresh Prasad Joshi, a senior veterinary doctor at the Animal Disease Research Laboratory in Dhangadhi, reported at least 18 animal deaths from rabies in the past 20 days. “In a span of three years, rabies infection has been confirmed in 371 animals. This is only the number of cases reported to the laboratory. Meanwhile, it is reported that at least five people have died due to rabies infection, and since much of it might not be reported, the number of deaths could be much higher,” he said.
Senior veterinarian Joshi stated that a 70-year-old woman from Surma Rural Municipality-2 in Bajhang died this week due to rabies. Earlier this year, a child in Baitadi also succumbed to the disease.
The highest cases of rabies are reported in Kailali and Kanchanpur districts. Out of 170 samples collected in the fiscal year 2081/82, rabies was confirmed in 136. Kailali reported the highest number of infections, with 78 out of 98 samples testing positive, followed by 43 out of 53 in Kanchanpur, five out of seven in Achham, three in Bajhang, and six out of eight in Doti.
A case of rabies was confirmed just two days ago in an animal that was wandering around biting other animals in Godawari Municipality-6, Kailali. Senior veterinarian Joshi shared that the sample collected by the laboratory’s Rapid Response Team (RRT) tested positive.
Previously, rabies was confirmed in a dog in Shuklaphanta Municipality-1 of Kanchanpur, and now the fear of rabid dogs is also increasing at Ward No. 12 of the same municipality, said Ram Prasad Bhatta, head of the Municipality’s Livestock Development Branch.
According to him, foxes and jackals have recently started entering human settlements due to the destruction of their natural habitat in sugarcane plantations. “After the sugarcane harvesting season begins, the places where foxes and jackals hide and their feeding areas are destroyed. Due to the lack of shelter, jackals enter settlements in search of food, bite domestic dogs and livestock, and through this, the spread of rabies has accelerated,” Bhatta said.
Veterinarian Bhojraj Pandeya emphasized that although rabies is a fatal disease, timely treatment and precaution can save lives. He advises washing any animal bite wound thoroughly with soap and clean water for 10-15 minutes, and seeking immediate medical attention for rabies vaccination, even for minor wounds.