Vaccinate Your Dogs Against Rabies – Kano Veterinarian Habibu Advises Dog-Keepers

December 19, (THEWILL) – The Head of Gwale Veterinary Reference Laboratory in Kano State, Dr Sha’arani Habibu, has advised dog owners to vaccinate their dogs against rabies to safeguard their health and that of the people they come into contact with.

Habib, who gave the advice in an interview with newsmen in Kano on Thursday, said vaccinating the dogs would prevent them from infecting humans with the disease through their bites, as there is no treatment for rabies.

He said since there is no treatment for the disease, the dogs should be vaccinated “each and every year.”

He also urged dog keepers to always be monitoring the behaviour of their dogs, recommending that once they notice a change in their behaviour, they should consult veterinary personnel immediately for remedy.

“This is because rabies disease has to do with a change of the behaviour of the dog, in fact, about 80 percent of rabies noticed in dogs comes with a change of behaviour”, the veterinarian said.

He also advised people, who come into contact with “unknown dogs” to be very careful in their interactions with them, “because they wouldn’t know if such dogs carry rabies.”

He said rabies dogs are particularly active in the night and very sensitive to light and sound”, so people should be careful with them during night hours.”

Dr Habib said the laboratory is the only functional veterinary laboratory in Northern Nigeria belonging to a State Government.

He said the laboratory started operation in March 2023, and that it was established to serve the Northwestern states of Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Jigawa, Sokoto, Zamfara and Kebbi.

According to him, the laboratory is owned by the Kano State Government and receives its funding from the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and Lives and Livelihood Funds(LLF), through the Kano State Agro-Pastoral Development Project(KSADP).

He said the laboratory had been contributing a lot to the diagnosis or control of rabies in the Northwest zone, adding that from September 2023 to September 2024, the facility had recorded more than 50 rabies-positive cases involving one hundred individuals and 50 animals.