KILL RABIES !
- the scourge, not the victim

"Como, a two year old rare white Siberian tiger was put to sleep by lethal injection in Racine, Minnesota, last Friday, so that it could be tested for rabies after last minute appeals to save its life failed. Como broke out of his cage at a private wild animal park last Sunday and bit a seven year old girl from Rochester. She was released from hospital on Wednesday. The girl's parents told officials she had negative reactions to vaccinations and refused to allow rabies shots." Quoted in a recent Sunday newspaper.

Who do you sympathise with? The rare white tiger, ecologically at the very peak of the earth's ecological cycle, who was put death without trial or verdict of guilt? Or the parents of the little girl who refused either to subject their daughter to post bite treatment, or wait to see whether Como really incubated the dreaded disease or not?

A difficult choice to make. The pain of a little girl versus the life of a rare tiger. It could not have been easy for the veterinarian who had to administer the final shot. Especially, when the decision was made based on a human fear, an emotion that often wins over the best arguments of logic or compassion, rather than animal rights.

Yes rabies is a fearful disease, and not just because it is absolutely fatal if not treated at once. More frightening is the method of transmission - being bitten in a terrifying painful way by a rabid animal is not quite the same cup of tea as the insidious unannounced spread of water or airborne diseases. Thereafter the symptoms are even more horrible for the relatives of the patient to endure, and isolation is the only solution. Follow this up with a lonely confused agonising death, and we have one disease here that must, certainly must, be wiped off the face of the earth.

And I must add, that for every one human death due to this disease that we know of, there could be hundreds of unreported animal deaths, no less excruciating just because the poor creatures do not speak our language.

Many countries have eradicated this zoonotic killer. It is nonexistent in Europe and Australia, but still found in parts of the United States, where coyote, foxes and raccoons are the main carriers. India is one of the few countries left where there still exist pockets in which this disease is prevalent. Goa unfortunately is one of them, though the incidence of human deaths due to rabies have fallen in the past few years.

Numerically speaking, few people actually die of rabies per year in India - 30000 is the figure thrown about. Compare this with other diseases spread from man to man like tuberculosis, typhoid, hereditary diseases, and even AIDs, and the number pales into insignificance. However, the disease has been dramatised to such a degree, what with all the "madness" and "barking" and other symptoms erroneously associated with it, that there are many more stories of the infliction than reality would have. In the past, the "fourteen injections in the stomach" post-bite treatment had its own share of dread.

The misconceptions around rabies are many.For one, dogs are not the only carriers, all warm blooded animals are. In fact, monkeys and bats are more likely to be the cause of many rabies deaths in our country because they are almost totally wild, not friendly towards humans the way dogs are and will bite indiscriminately. Most important, they are quite unlikely to be immunised.

Secondly, the disease is not as easily transmitted as others, because it requires the saliva of the rabid animal to come in direct contact with the blood, saliva or other internal body fluids of the victim. Also, the virus cannot live for more than a few hours outside a host. Therefore, even if you spot a frothing wild-eyed animal in your neighborhood, don't just avoid it but make sure to thoroughly disinfect the surroundings with a Dettol swab, after it moves on. And don't try to catch the animal or destroy it yourself, you could make things worse, call the municipality or your local shelter instead.

Then again, it is possible to survive the disease, without untoward consequences, if immediate post-bite treatment is given. If one is absolutely sure that the bite was by a rabid animal, an immediate injection of immunoglobulin into the site of the wound, followed by six painless anti- rabies injections (I've had them, they really are painless!) in the arm over a period of three months, are required. If one is not sure that the animal was rabid, then a thorough ten minute wash with water and carbolic soap followed by five injections in the arm as a precaution, over a period of two months, is advised.

For all those who regularly come in contact with warm-blooded animals, stray or otherwise, it is advisable to have oneself vaccinated against the disease every year, that is, one injection in the arm. If you work or volunteer at an animal shelter, this is a must. But even if you just keep pets at home that are free roaming, you must vaccinate yourself and your pets regularly. If every one took this seriously, the disease would be wiped out completely in a matter of years. Statistics show that 48% of confirmed rabid bites in our country are pets biting humans.

We can vaccinate ourselves and our pets quite easily, you will argue. But what about all the thousands of wild and stray animals who cannot be caught and immunised that easily? Well, that's where the local governments and the animal welfare organisations come in. Regular anti-rabies vaccination camps are being conducted, attached to or independent of the sterilisation programs. The Goa SPCA has begun conducting monthly camps around the state for stray animals, the services are completely free. We are also investigating the possibility of importing oral vaccines which are hidden in baits and airdropped over high potential areas, a method being successfully used in the United States. However, the cooperation of the local citizenry for any effort is essential.

Support vaccination, bring your pets and other neighborhood animals to these camps in large numbers, help us identify and catch strays, monitor them if you can and you care so that we can conduct follow up camps, keep your surroundings clean.

Anything you do is welcome, every little bit will help.