By Mathew Abekson
Residents of Kotido district and municipality are living in fear following escalating cases dog bits amid confirmed rabies outbreak.
Recently, Charles Ichogor, the Resident District Commissioner (RDC) confirmed an outbreak of rabies in the district.
He said that several sub counties have been identified as hotspots for rabies cases, and that the authorities were monitoring the situation.
Ichogor urged residents to be vigilant and report signs of rabies in dogs and cats, such as sudden changes in behaviour, excessive salivation, unusual barking, and unnecessary biting of objects.
However, Mario Arion, a resident of Kotido West Division attributed rabies outbreak to failure by the district to carry out routine dog vaccination.
He noted that last time the district carried out dog vaccination against rabies was in 2021, and since then the dogs never received any booster shots.
Arion added that the situation has been compounded with lack of government-supplied anti-rabies drugs, leaving local health facilities unable to properly treat dog-bite victims.
According to Arion, last week his dogs bit three people and he had to pay for their treatment after being informed by the district Veterinary Officer that the anti-rabies drugs were out of stock.
Susan Achayo, the LC1 of Kotido SS and Mission Cell in West Division, described rabies outbreak as a crucial issue affecting the community.
She explained that many families in her area keep dogs for security, but they have been increasingly facing problems of rabies due to delays in vaccination.
Achayo emphasized the urgent need for vaccination campaigns and adequate supply of anti-rabies drugs to protect the community.
