PANAJI: With Goa having acquired the status of being a rabies-controlled state, the directorate of animal husbandry and veterinary services (AHVS) has decided to ensure that the virus doesn’t enter the state through its borders.
People, especially tourists, travelling to Goa along with their pets will now have to inform the AHVS department about bringing the animals along and get them vaccinated.
“As soon as they enter Goa, they must call the hotline and share their pet’s information and vaccination details.
If their pets are not vaccinated, we will arrange for the vaccination free of cost,” AHVS deputy director Dr Marvin Lopes said.
However, livestock is exempted from this.
Only dogs and cats must be vaccinated against rabies while entering Goa.
In Goa, every pet owner is required to get the animal vaccinated, and they can be questioned by any veterinarian on why they’ve failed to do so.
If locals have even the slightest doubt that a dog is showing rabies symptoms, they must inform on the hotline, the department has mandated.
The rabies virus had resulted in the death of 17 people in 2014, besides several dogs.
The cases have declined after Mission Rabies started vaccinating and sterilising dogs across Goa.
TOI had reported on June 23 that Goa has been declared as a rabies-controlled state on account of zero deaths in humans due to the rabies virus in the past three years.
“It is a long neglected disease that was often unreported and in some cases, the rabies deaths used to go unrecorded.
After Goa came forward to address the issue, the data was recorded by Mission Rabies and monitored by district-level monitoring committees,” Mission Rabies education director Dr Murugan Appupillai said.
To maintain the status of Goa being a rabies-controlled state, he said that the people must cooperate by reporting any potential rabies cases and be educated about avoidance and management of dog bites.
The department has set up monitoring committees in panchayats to encourage tie-ups with animal welfare organizations to sterilise stray dogs within their jurisdiction.
Lopes said that roughly about 20 panchayats have signed the MoU to execute this task.