R. Santhanam and his wife Vadivukkarasi have no less than 16 dogs as pets and they were among the pet parents who visited the Madras Veterinary College in Vepery to vaccinate their dogs at the free anti-rabies vaccination campaign.
“Since we are treating our dogs regularly here, we were informed in advance by the doctors to participate in the vaccination drive,” said Mr. Santhanam, who hired a mini-truck to transport his dogs to the veterinary college from Tondaiarpet.
On Thursday, around 250 dogs and 24 cats were vaccinated against rabies, a deadly disease for which there is no cure. The campaign was inaugurated by C. Balachandran, vice-chancellor, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (Tanuvas).
“Every year, 59,000 people die of rabies, even though it is completely preventable. Vaccinate the dog when it is three months old and give a booster shot in the fourth month. It should be followed by regular single vaccination every year,” said Dr. B. Nagarajan, professor and head, Department of Clinics, Tanuvas. In the case of pups adopted from the streets, Dr. Nagarajan advised immediate vaccination, as their mothers would not have been vaccinated.
Asked about reports that a person had died of a bite from a vaccinated healthy dog, suggesting that the animal could have been a carrier, he said there was no basis for the reports. “Dogs are not carriers of rabies, they too suffer from the disease. We have not come across cats infected with rabies in Chennai. It is rare,” he said.
Dr. Nagarajan said that dogs infected with rabies were either aggressive or dumb. “But they will manifest ascending paralysis and salivate,” he said. Director of Clinics Dr. S. Balasubramanian and assistant professor, Department of Clinics, D. Chandrasekaran were present.