back to top

Karonga registers three rabies related deaths

Published on:

Share post:

Karonga District has in July 2023 registered three rabies related death after the deceased were bitten by suspected rabid dogs.

Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response Officer for Karonga District Hospital, Raymond Jereni said the deceased are a 25-year-old woman and two boys aged 5 and 11.

“This is a concern for us. We did not register any deaths related to rabies in the past two years. But we have already registered more than 15 dog bite cases within this month,” Jereni said.

He added that there is an increase in number of the bites as 245 cases were registered in 2022 and have already recorded 230 just in half a year.

“We have during our surveillance exercises observed that there are a lot of unreported dog and pet bite cases. This is risky because we still have around many dogs and pets that are not vaccinated,” he said.

According to World Health Organisation statistics in Malawi, nearly 500 people die each year due to rabies and out of more than 400 000 dogs in the country, only half of them get vaccinated against rabies annually.

Principal Animal Health and Livestock Development Officer for Karonga District Agriculture Development Division, Michael Mapundi said some pets were missed during mass rabies vaccination campaign which was conducted in March and April this year,

Dogs being vaccinated during a mass rabies vaccination campaign

He said many people who have pets such as dogs don’t vaccinate them against rabies, hence infesting the district with stray dogs roaming around health facilities, market places, schools and offices, among others.

Mapundi said normally, it takes a month or more before signs and symptoms of rabies disease start manifesting after being bitten by a rabid suspected pet.

Director of Agriculture, Environment, and Natural Resources for Karonga District Council, Raphael Mkisi said dogs and pets are supposed to be vaccinated every year.

Mkisi said there are over 10,000 dogs in Karonga and that due to limited resources, his office manages to vaccinate 4000 representing 40 against the recommended percent.

He appealed to people to be reporting immediately to any nearby veterinary office whenever they are bitten by any pet for a reference letter for them to be treatment at their nearby health facilities.

Globally, rabies has the highest mortality rate.


Discover more from Nthanda Times

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Related articles

Three men drown in separate incidents in Karonga

Three men have drowned in separate incidents in Lake Malawi in Karonga District, police have confirmed.

U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator to attend Mw’s Global Fund 52nd Board Meeting

The United States Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Dr. John Nkengasong and a U.S. Government Delegation are scheduled to...

WHO donates MK62.2m PEDSAM kits to Malawi government

World Health Organisation (WHO) on Monday donated to Malawi government 48 kits of paediatric severe acute malnutrition (PEDSAM) worth MK62.2m to address the challenges posed by paediatric severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in the country.

Leveraging community-led mobilisation to promote vaccine uptake

At the northeastern tip of Kasungu District near the border with Mzimba, there sits a community called Manjondo Village, telephonically disconnected from the rest of the district.

Discover more from Nthanda Times

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading