4 days ago
45K strays in Tambaram corporation to get anti-rabies vaccine
CHENNAI: While official numbers are yet to be released, primary reports of the Tambaram City Municipal Corporation's dog survey suggest that there may be 45,000 free-roaming stray dogs in the corporation area. With dedicated teams, TCMC is planning a large-scale Anti-Rabies Vaccination drive for all the 45,000 dogs within 50 days.
The drive, titled COHAB (Cohabitation) as part of the city's public health initiative, is expected to break the rabies transmission among dogs and the risk of transmission to humans. COHAB would also help reduce rabies-related mortality in dogs and promote safer human-animal coexistence, alongside a probable decline in dog bite incidents.
To ensure complete geographical coverage for the campaign, Tambaram has been divided into five operational zones. Each day, 10 dedicated teams will be deployed across these zones, which will vaccinate at least 100 dogs, bringing the total to 1,000 vaccinations per day. Each team comprises 10 members, divided into three specialised units- a catching unit (five members with a vehicle) for humane dog capture, a vaccinating unit (two vets with a dedicated vehicle), and a support unit (two assistants and one supervisor) tasked with record-keeping and operational support.
The campaign will run six days a week, from Monday to Saturday, over a planned 45-day period. Additional five days have been set aside for mop-up. Although the civic body is aiming at 100% coverage, sources said that by the end of the drive, at least 80% of the dogs would have been covered. It may be noted that the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a minimum of 70% vaccination coverage to prevent rabies transmission in the canine population.
