LAHORE, July 28: The incidence of rabies is on the rise in Pakistan as at least 5,000 deaths are being recorded annually, mostly caused by dog bite. While the rabies cases being reported from India are much higher and one person is falling prey to the zonotic viral disease after every 20 minutes.

This was stated by speakers at a national seminar on “The awareness and current status of rabies” organised by the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) epidemiology and the Public Health Department in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO), Novartis and Sadaat International at the university conference hall on Thursday.

Punjab Livestock and Dairy Development Department Secretary Hamid Yaqoob Sheikh stressed that the health and livestock departments in collaboration with universities should make efforts to effectively fight rabies.

He said these institutions should also play their role in creating awareness and preventing the disease in the first place.

Referring to nation’s joint efforts in the times of emergencies and natural calamities, Mr Sheikh asked why such collaborative efforts could not be made in normal circumstances.

He also urged the experts to identify causes and reasons for the spread of rabies, its prevention and cure. He lauded the university’s efforts in holding the national seminar to create awareness among the general public.

UVAS Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Nawaz said rabies was a fatal disease and an alarming threat for human beings as well as animals.

He called for chalking out a strategy to create awareness among students, livestock workers and the general public to control the disease. He said the World Rabies Day would be observed on Sept 28.

Epidemiology and public health department chairman Prof Dr Athar Khan said that it was estimated that around 55,000 deaths were being reported from across the globe due to zonotic viral disease and added that 56 per cent of these deaths were occurring in Asia and 44 per cent in Africa, particularly in rural areas.

He said the domestic animals -- dogs, cats and horses -- were the most important vectors for the spread and transmission of rabies.

He called for immunization of domestic animals and stressed that the post-exposure immunization must be carried out in case of a bite from rabid animals.

At the technical session later, experts recommended that veterinarians and MBBS doctors must be provided with SOPs to attend rabies cases.

It was suggested that surveillance was essential for detection of high risk areas, outbreaks and monitoring of the use of vaccine. It was also recommended that measures should be taken to control the stray dog population.

Faculty of veterinary science dean Prof Dr Nasim Ahmad, WHO representative Dr Muhammad Mazhar Qureshi, assistant professor Muhammad Hassan, Dr Sara Afzal and livestock department director general Irfan Zahid also spoke. USDA: A United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has offered to collaborate with the UVAS to launch a national project for the control of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) in Pakistan as well as exploring possibilities of the project execution and future collaboration.

A four-member USDA delegation was called on UVAS Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Nawaz at his office on Thursday.

The FMD is causing economic loss worth Rs6 billion annually in the form of milk potential and death of animals.

The USDA’s animal health adviser Jeffrey J. Hamer, plant health adviser Ian Winborne, senior agriculture specialist Asmat Raza and agriculture marketing specialist Rashid Raja are holding discussions with Pakistani academia and veterinarian experts to develop a comprehensive policy regarding the FMD control for the benefit of the livestock sector in Pakistan.

At a meeting, UVAS VC Prof Nawaz briefed the delegation about academia, research development and extension activities of the university.

Answering a question about village livestock workers, Prof Nawaz emphasized that the basic object was to train human resource, who detected the animal heat and properly inseminated and took care of the animal health-related issues.

RESULTS: The Punjab University on Thursday declared results of M.Phil High Energy Physics (two-year), semester system, session 2008-10.