FROM the pitch and abyss of darkness, the veterinary profession and stakeholders seemed to be having a smile in the sun if the events of the last World Rabies Day celebrated on September 28, 2012 meant anything to anybody.For so long, there has been no love lost between core veterinary professionals and those who sat on the fringes of the profession plying their trade. This has been responsible for the abysmal level the perception of the profession of veterinary medicine has. It has all along been unbridled competition, envy and greed ruling the landscape.Last Friday however, it was a surprise and in fact, interesting that veterinarians and breeders came to a meeting point to fight the scourge of rabies which is a common enemy. Even if the fight was fought on different platforms, it was still an initiative that was warmly welcomed.Throughout the country, I heard encouraging reports about how the different branches of the Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association celebrated the day in the various states and how the National Executive Committee of the body marked the day with veterinarians in Ogun State.The distinct feature of this year's celebration as earlier stated, was the involvement in the celebration of dog breeders and dog owners, who also marked the day with series of lectures, road shows and dog shows '- all with the aim of properly positioning the knowledge of the general public about what rabies could actually mean to the society if nothing is done to prevent or manage it.For me, the synergy of the association and the industry is a good sign about the management of the disease. Several countries, especially in the Europe, and particularly Britain, have eliminated rabies in their pet and livestock population and observe very strict quarantine rules when receiving pets and animals from suspect countries like Nigeria.I was joking with a friend about this fact and he quickly reminded me that if polio is still a problem in the country, how much more rabies' But that is where everybody is wrong. It is my humble submission that the same measure of attention given to polio and other life-threatening diseases should also be accorded rabies. The smart reason is that the spread of rabies is like a bush fire. One case is an epidemic and as long as the animal population in an environment is active, the possibility of rabies exists.The question then is, how has the society tackled this challenge' Unseriously. Why' Because, it involves animals '- not until, people start to die in droves will the society begin to appreciate the grave danger rabies poses.The whole thing boils down to the awareness of the evils of the disease, with deliberate and calculated steps enunciated to mitigate its effects.It is like the practice and noise on AIDS. At the moment, rabies kills faster than AIDS. There are no two ways about it. An AIDS patient can live for several years with proper management protocol. However, with a confirmed case of rabies, death ensues within days to as short as two months.So, why do we still have the present attitude to rabies' It is only reasonable that governments across all levels in the country enunciate policies that will pro-actively keep rabies in check.It is no surprise then that the OIE (the World Organization for Animal Health) selected a day to remind us all about the danger that rabies represents. I therefore welcome the current attitude of veterinarians and the stakeholders at increasing the awareness of our people to the scourge of rabies.
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