Hanoi (VNA) – Northern Vietnam remains the region with the highest number of deathfrom rabies, accounting for 80 percent of the country’s mortality, deputy director of the HealthMinistry’s Department of Preventive Medicine Dang Quang Tan told a meeting inHanoi on August 6.

A meeting onstrengthening intersectoral approaches for rabies prevention and control inhigh-risk provinces in the north of Vietnam was held by the Department ofPreventive Medicine and the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology(NIHE) in partnership with the Department of Animal Health under the Ministryof Agriculture and Rural Development, the World Health Organisation (WHO) andOne Health.

It gatheredrepresentatives of 18 northern cities and provinces which recorded a highnumber of death from rabies from 2018 – 2019, including Hoa Binh, Lao Cai,Thanh Hoa, Bac Giang, Thai Nguyen, Vinh Phuc, Phu Tho, Nghe An, Son La, Dien Bien, Tuyen Quang, YenBai, Ha Giang, Lai Chau, Lang Son, HaiPhong, Hai Duong and Hanoi.

The delegatesdiscussed the role of stakeholders from the central to local levels inpreventing rabies, experience of each locality and challenges in rabiesprevention today. They pointed out that Vietnam has failed to sustainablyreduce the number of fatalities from rabies and effectively supervise domestic dogs. At the same time, the rabies vaccination rate in dogs inmany localities remained low while people living in remote areas have limitedaccess to rabies vaccine.

Tan saidrabies is a dangerous infectious disease with a very high mortality rate and most deaths from rabies occurbecause people aren’t aware of the consequences and don’t go to get vaccinatedafter being bitten. Most falities happen in rural areas where dogs are oftenlet roam free and not vaccinated, he added.

He went on to say that the country has beenmaking efforts to control rabies and seen a decrease in the number of deathfrom rabies for three consecutive years from 2015 – 2017. However, the numberof fatalities increased again lastyear, rising to 103 from 74 in 2017, he noted.

In the firsthalf of 2019, the country reported 46 deaths from rabies in 24 cities and provinces with SonLa recoding six cases, the highestnumber.

According tothe NIHE, rabies is the main cause of the most deaths from infectious diseasesin Vietnam. About half a million people get vaccinated as a preventive measurefrom rabies but in reality, the number of people bitten by animals is muchhigher.

The instituteemphasised that vaccination is the only way to prevent human mortality fromrabies.–VNA