Rs. 500m spent on anti-rabies campaign

Healthcare and Nutrition Ministry spends nearly Rs. 500 million annually on anti-rabies campaign, Director of Public Health and Veterinary Health Services Dr. P. A. L. Harischandra said.

Under this scheme, domestic and stray dogs are given injections while sterilisation operations are carried out on dogs.

Accordingly, 600,000 domestic dogs, and 58,498 stray dogs have already been given anti-rabies injections.

While another 70,000 have been sterilised, Dr. Harischandra said.

It is reported there are around 55,000 deaths reporting from rabies annually around the world, while Asia region has recorded nearly 31,000 deaths annually. In Sri Lanka, upto June, this year, 28 deaths have been recorded. Annually, around 400,000 patients are admitted to hospitals with rabies and by June, this year nearly 250,000 have been inoculated against rabies.

At the district and provincial level, too, these inoculation and sterilisation programs are being conducted to arrest the increasing canine population.

Healthcare and Nutrition Ministry requests to public to extend their cooperation in the task of eradicating this menace by 2016.