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Pet dogs to be registered soon 

31 Mar 2021

  • Rabies control the objective 
  • MoH, LG Bodies to coordinate process 
  • Sri Lanka’s canine population around 3 million 
  Sri Lanka will soon begin registering domesticated dogs, who form the bulk of the approximately 3 million canine population in Sri Lanka, in an effort to control the spread of rabies, The Morning learnt.  Speaking to The Morning, Health Ministry Public Health Veterinary Services Director, Dr. L.D. Kithsiri said discussions are being conducted with the relevant parties to register domestic dogs.  “We have asked for assistance from the Local Government Authorities like the Municipal Councils, Urban Councils and Pradeshiya Sabhas so that the owners could take their dog/s for registration to the nearest institution.”  He said that the total number of dogs in the country is around three million including those domesticated and those who roam free, and said that this new programme of the Health Ministry will register only domestic dogs in the first stage. “We need a national programme to register dogs and it should be under one institution as 900,000 of these dogs don’t have proper owners. Further, rabies prevention activities are hampered due to stray dogs,” he added.  Rabies is listed as a contagious disease in dogs and cats and is estimated to cause 30 deaths annually in the country, mainly due to exposure to infected dogs, the Public Health Inspectors Union of Sri Lanka Secretary, M. Balasooriya noted.  Speaking to The Morning, he added that 99% of rabies cases are reported due to domestic animals (including dogs and cats) and that only 1% was by wild animals (mainly jackals).  Rabies is a 100% fatal zoonotic, viral disease. It is usually spread to humans by saliva, through bites or scratches. Dogs are the source of the vast majority of human deaths from rabies. It can be completely prevented via vaccination.  Sri Lanka is the first country in the World Health Organisation South Asia Region to develop a national strategy for the elimination of rabies due to dogs and is a key country in sharing knowledge, expertise and capacity building in the Region, towards achieving the global target of zero rabies deaths by 2030.  “To achieve the last mile in rabies elimination in Sri Lanka, more will need to be done to scale up dog vaccination, enforce responsible dog ownership, strengthen surveillance for animals and humans, and conduct mass awareness programmes,” Balasooriya noted.  The Health Ministry Public Health Veterinary Services are responsible for rabies control in the country. Under the decentralised health system, Regional Directorates of Health implement the control activities island-wide.  Mass dog vaccination, female dog sterilisation and programmes for the adoption of puppies at the community level have been introduced, while raising awareness and addressing both the human and animal aspects in coordination with the Local Authorities, in a multi-pronged approach to combat rabies.

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