Wild and Free organises free Rabies vaccine drive in Silchar on occasion of World Zoonoses Day 2021

Every year World Zoonoses day is celebrated on 6th July to commemorate the success of French biologist Louis Pasteur who administered the first successful vaccine against Rabies on the same day in 1885. Zoonosis is a concept in biology which states that a pathogen (like bacteria, virus, or parasite) can have the potential to spread from an animal to a human host by making a species jump and subsequently multiply within the new population.

The plural of zoonosis is zoonoses and hence the day calls for raising awareness against different types of zoonotic diseases that can spread via animals to humans. The concept of zoonosis rose to prominence last year as the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 was also hypothesized to have jumped from bats or pangolins as initial hosts to humans in Wuhan, China during late December 2019 resulting in an “outbreak of pneumonia of unknown cause” at that time and triggering the ongoing worldwide pandemic later. This year’s Zoonoses Day theme is “Let’s Break the Chain of Zoonotic Transmission.”

On the occasion of Zoonoses Day, a Silchar-based NGO named Wild and Free organised a free Rabies vaccination drive for dogs in collaboration with State Veterinary Hospital, Silchar. The drive was held under the supervision of Dr. Sujoy Chakraborty (Veterinary In-charge, Sonai), Dr. Manoranjan Sarkar (Veterinary In-charge, Silchar), and Dr. Jiten Bhuiya (State Veterinary Officer). A total of 53 dogs were vaccinated against rabies during the drive.

Speaking on the occasion, Sonai Veterinary In-charge Dr. Sujay Chakraborty said, “Each and every individual has some sort of direct or indirect contact with animals in their lives. Recently pet lovers in the city have increased and NGOs are also involved in rescuing animals for saving their lives. It makes them more vulnerable to zoonotic diseases which can directly transmit to humans. A few of them like Rabies unfortunately don’t have any cure once exposed. The best strategy is to prevent the infection by using vaccines.”

Alluding to the irregularities in getting pets vaccinated he said, “Every third house in Silchar is having a pet but about fifty percent aren’t vaccinated. Some partially vaccinate their pets and don’t complete the full schedule. Awareness needs to be created so that every pet owner comes forward by themselves to have their pet vaccinated. Today’s free vaccination drive is just a small initiative in achieving that goal.”

Speaking about NGOs and rescuers involved in saving animals Chakraborty said, “The animal rescuers should also get their rabies vaccine as a preventive measure by consulting their medical officer as they are frequently exposed to animals.”