PESHAWAR, April 21: Speakers at a media workshop on Thursday urged owners of dogs to get their pets vaccinated in order to protect people from the fatal rabies disease. “According to WHO, Pakistan has five million dogs. Out of them 2.5 million are in the NWFP and Fata. Dogs should be vaccinated every year,” said Saeedullah Jan, director of the veterinary research institute, in his speech at the workshop organised jointly by the National Institute of Health, WHO, and the health department.

He said rabies caused 60,000 deaths every year worldwide. He cited lack of awareness in general public and medical professionals, inadequate communication facilities in remote areas, limited resources for prevention and control programmes, poor surveillance system and absence of data about animal-bite cases and rabies as factors responsible for a non-existent preventive strategy.

Dr Farida Ahmad, coordinator of the national rabies control programme, said that post-exposure inadequate treatment and its high cost, insufficient diagnostic facilities, poor coverage in media and negligence on the part of local government authorities had aggravated the problem.

Dr Shahab Akhtar Qazi spoke at length regarding the role of media in creating awareness about the deadly disease.

Dr Fayyaz Ali said the government had enhanced the annual budget for vaccines and added that Khyber Teaching Hospital had been declared as the treatment centre for the rabies victims.

He said vaccines were also available at the district headquarters hospitals where local people could be vaccinated.