Shiloh
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Source: http://www.kuenselonline.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=15101
Six outbreaks in three months
Rabies in Chukha 5 April, 2010 - Two days after a four-year-old boy was bitten by a rabid dog in Dhamdara, Phuentsholing, one of the villages in lower Tala gewog, Kemalakha, reported its second rabies outbreak on April 3. The lower Tala area is also known as Darla.
A brown male stray dog, which had bitten two pet dogs, was killed by the villagers the same day. ?It was salivating, biting dogs and attacking children, so the dog was killed,? the regional veterinary officer with the regional livestock development center (RLDC), Tsimasham, Dr Basant Sharma.
Although samples have been taken for testing, Dr Basant Sharma said that it was confirmed that the dog was rapid. ?One of the pet dogs is severely bitten on the ear and head region and it may not survive,? he said.
This is the sixth sporadic outbreak Phuentsholing has seen in the past three months. Five people and 16 livestock have been bitten by rabid dogs since January this year, said records with RLDC. The first case was reported on February 2 in Rinchending, followed by an outbreak in February in Kemelakha, which is about 30 km from Tala, where six livestock and two persons were bitten by a rabid dog.
Nine dogs were killed in Pasakha when the third outbreak was reported last month. It was followed by an outbreak in Pesilakha, Samarchen, a week later.
Dr Basant Sharma said that it would be considered an outbreak even if one case of foot and mouth disease (FMD) or rabies were reported. ?An outbreak in Darla was unexpected because it?s out of the border area,? he said. ?But about two years ago, there was a major rabies outbreak in Darla, which spread to Gedu.?
Places in and around Phuentsholing and Samste usually see an increase in rabies cases around this time of the year, said Dr Basant Sharma.
?Because of the porous area, we often get such sporadic cases of rabies,? he said. ?But we?ve not done a study to find out why we see an increased number of rabies cases around this time of the year.?
By Sonam Pelden
Six outbreaks in three months
Rabies in Chukha 5 April, 2010 - Two days after a four-year-old boy was bitten by a rabid dog in Dhamdara, Phuentsholing, one of the villages in lower Tala gewog, Kemalakha, reported its second rabies outbreak on April 3. The lower Tala area is also known as Darla.
A brown male stray dog, which had bitten two pet dogs, was killed by the villagers the same day. ?It was salivating, biting dogs and attacking children, so the dog was killed,? the regional veterinary officer with the regional livestock development center (RLDC), Tsimasham, Dr Basant Sharma.
Although samples have been taken for testing, Dr Basant Sharma said that it was confirmed that the dog was rapid. ?One of the pet dogs is severely bitten on the ear and head region and it may not survive,? he said.
This is the sixth sporadic outbreak Phuentsholing has seen in the past three months. Five people and 16 livestock have been bitten by rabid dogs since January this year, said records with RLDC. The first case was reported on February 2 in Rinchending, followed by an outbreak in February in Kemelakha, which is about 30 km from Tala, where six livestock and two persons were bitten by a rabid dog.
Nine dogs were killed in Pasakha when the third outbreak was reported last month. It was followed by an outbreak in Pesilakha, Samarchen, a week later.
Dr Basant Sharma said that it would be considered an outbreak even if one case of foot and mouth disease (FMD) or rabies were reported. ?An outbreak in Darla was unexpected because it?s out of the border area,? he said. ?But about two years ago, there was a major rabies outbreak in Darla, which spread to Gedu.?
Places in and around Phuentsholing and Samste usually see an increase in rabies cases around this time of the year, said Dr Basant Sharma.
?Because of the porous area, we often get such sporadic cases of rabies,? he said. ?But we?ve not done a study to find out why we see an increased number of rabies cases around this time of the year.?
By Sonam Pelden