Independence Day on Friday marked the beginning of a significant public health and animal welfare initiative, the Mega Anti-Rabies Mass Dog Vaccination Drive, in the state capital, Shimla.
The programme was flagged off by the Deputy Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Mukesh Agnihotri, in the presence of State Congress President Pratibha Singh, local MLA Harish Janartha, and Shimla Municipal Corporation Mayor Surender Chauhan.
The campaign, jointly organised by Humane People NGO, Mission Rabies, the Department of Animal Husbandry (Himachal Pradesh), and the Shimla Municipal Corporation, will run from August 15 to 29. Covering all 34 wards of Shimla city, it aims to vaccinate approximately 4,000 stray and community dogs against rabies.
For the first time, Mission Rabies, an internationally recognised organisation working in more than 18 countries, is operating in Himachal Pradesh. The drive follows the Mass Dog Vaccination (MDV) strategy, the only scientifically proven method to control and eliminate dog-mediated human rabies, as endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). By vaccinating at least 70 per cent of the dog population, rabies transmission can be effectively stopped, saving both human and animal lives.
Addressing the gathering, Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri conveyed his best wishes to the scientific team and their dedicated teammates for organising this mega event in Shimla. He emphasised that such initiatives reflect the state’s commitment to achieving a rabies-free Himachal Pradesh and contribute towards India’s pledge to meet the “Zero by 30” global target, eliminating dog-mediated human rabies deaths by 2030.
Trained teams have been deployed across different areas of the city for this fortnight-long vaccination drive.
Rabies is known as a 100 per cent fatal but 100 per cent preventable disease. As many as 98 per cent of rabies cases in humans are dog-mediated. The current dog vaccination drive against rabies in Shimla becomes more significant in the event of Supreme Court judgement on stray dogs, which has invited sharp criticism by animal lovers. The number of dog bites in Shimla has increased ten times over the last decade with Shimla MC lagging behind in stray dog sterilization and vaccination.
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