Rabies on the rise in Thailand, vaccinations urged

[webfact]

Rabies on the rise, vaccinations urged

By The Nation

 

All professionals who work with animals have been urged to get vaccinated against rabies, as has anyone visiting areas where there are rabies outbreaks.

 

Department of Medical Sciences director-general Dr Sukhum Karnchanapimai made the appeal on Tuesday to veterinarians, staff at pet hospitals and animal labs, and caretakers of strays.

 

Rabies, a disease transmitted through the saliva or other bodily fluid of an infected animal, can be prevented after exposure by vaccination with an immunoglobulin serum, he noted.

 

But people in regular direct contact with animals should be vaccinated as a precaution before any possible exposure and then again if they are exposed, Sukhum said.

 

Rabies is on the rise in Thailand. There were 330 reported cases of rabies-affected animals in 2015, 614 in 2016 and 843 in 2017.

Dogs were the most infected (89 per cent), followed by cattle (6.6 per cent), cats (3.6 per cent) and others (0.7 per cent).

 

Rabies caused five human deaths in 2015, 14 in 2016 and eight in 2017, Dr Sukhum said.

 

Last month a schoolteacher in Muang Surin who had five dogs at home and often fed stray dogs died as a result of a rabies infection.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30338722

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-02-13

[George Bowman]

From years back. Soi dog 1- missoura 0.

Edited February 13, 2018 by missoura

[PatOngo]

With the amount of stray, mangy, mongrel soi dogs around, is it any surprise!

[mjnaus]

Right. Because vaccinating the entire country would be way more efficient that properly dealing with an out-of-control stray dog problem...

[CGW]

Lets not bother addressing the root cause! instead treat the symptoms!

Heybruce if you are happy to be vaccinated good for you, I prefer not to have chemicals injected in my body, inoculating animals is a whole different thing.

[anon467367354]

mandatory vaccines for pets still not yet a concept.

[Orton Rd]

Impossible job and too expensive, getting the army out to shoot the dogs would be a better solution

[heybruce]

36 minutes ago, CGW said:

Lets not bother addressing the root cause! instead treat the symptoms!

Heybruce if you are happy to be vaccinated good for you, I prefer not to have chemicals injected in my body, inoculating animals is a whole different thing.

The root cause being a disease that can  be greatly reduced among pets and people by vaccinating pets and controlling the population of strays.

 

I'm one of those old enough to have the smallpox vaccination scar (smallpox vaccinations are no longer necessary, vaccinations eradicated the disease) and I have Thai friends who lost family members to polio.  How do you feel about polio vaccinations?

 

People who have been safe for too long become complacent, if not stupid.

[Donotdisturb]

I took the shots as prevention. Better safe than sorry. 

And it's normal 1st world procedure for people who work with animals, like vets, to be vaccinated and test ANTIS in blood every year.

People seem to forget that once you show symptoms of rabies you will die. Only a few cases exist of people surviving but with serious neurological issues.

Edited February 13, 2018 by Donotdisturb

[worgeordie]

We get our cat inoculated every year,no problems for her,

and it was only 70 THB, just a little for peace of mind,I

think it should be mandatory for all owners,and that the

Government should organise inoculations for all soi dogs,

and  stray cats (if they can catch them)it's a nasty disease, 

regards Worgeordie

[simple1]

Would be useful for The Nation to identify the rabies outbreak areas. However, how once rabies free Malaysia handled a rabies outbreak in provinces bordering Thailand...

 

https://rabiesalliance.org/resource/rabies-outbreak-northern-malaysia-ends-after-vaccination-and-culling-campaigns

 

 

Edited February 13, 2018 by simple1

[Orton Rd]

The Thais will never cull soi dogs on the scale needed or probably any scale, the reason why not is well known. 

Edited February 13, 2018 by Orton Rd

[StayinThailand2much]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Last month a schoolteacher in Muang Surin who had five dogs at home and often fed stray dogs died as a result of a rabies infection.

Why do they feed the stray dogs anyway? To help their nutrition and procreation? Not surprised that rabies infections are on the rise!

[heybruce]

22 minutes ago, simple1 said:

Would be useful for The Nation to identify the rabies outbreak areas. However, how once rabies free Malaysia handled a rabies outbreak in provinces bordering Thailand...

 

https://rabiesalliance.org/resource/rabies-outbreak-northern-malaysia-ends-after-vaccination-and-culling-campaigns

I'm sure some places have it worse than others, but I think rabies is a concern all over Thailand.  It is carried by wild animals and pets that have not been inoculated. 

 

If you are bit by an animal and can not verify the animal has inoculated, see a qualified doctor ASAP.    As noted above, once symptoms have appeared it is too late, and it's a horrible way to die.

[StayinThailand2much]

13 minutes ago, Orton Rd said:

The Thais will never cull soi dogs on the scale needed or probably any scale, the reason why not is well known. 

The only way would be to promote dog meat a delicacy - problem solved within a few weeks... 

[Orton Rd]

can rabid dog meat be eaten? Better to offer 20 baht for every dead dog brought into collection centers where they could be burned 

[PatOngo]

22 minutes ago, Orton Rd said:

The Thais will never cull soi dogs on the scale needed or probably any scale, the reason why not is well known. 

They leave the cull for the highways!

[humbug]

12 minutes ago, Orton Rd said:

can rabid dog meat be eaten? Better to offer 20 baht for every dead dog brought into collection centers where they could be burned 

this is a disgusting post and should be reported as wum and abuse. Having foolish thoughts behind a keypad is one thing but trying to act like this on a grown up web board is quite another.

 

and yes people are aware of the foolish souls who think that is okay to do that in Asia when all society knows this is wrong

[CGW]

47 minutes ago, heybruce said:

The root cause being a disease that can  be greatly reduced among pets and people by vaccinating pets and controlling the population of strays.

 

I'm one of those old enough to have the smallpox vaccination scar (smallpox vaccinations are no longer necessary, vaccinations eradicated the disease) and I have Thai friends who lost family members to polio.  How do you feel about polio vaccinations?

 

People who have been safe for too long become complacent, if not stupid.

Fantastic, if you believe they do and have done all you say go for it, I choose to question "Big pharma" IMO its stupid to believe anything an industry bent on making money states as fact, off course if you only read the media that they control you may have a one sided view, maybe not? frankly I don't care   http://www.collective-evolution.com/2012/02/18/the-polio-vaccine-myth-the-vaccine-stopped-polio/

[zzidenn]

1 hour ago, gr8fldanielle said:

mandatory vaccines for pets still not yet a concept.

yes and if you want to bring a pet to thailand they are more than crazy about medical certificates, vaccinations etc. if they would simply apply that to thai dog owners as well, it would fix the problem instantly.

[connda]

1 hour ago, Orton Rd said:

Impossible job and too expensive, getting the army out to shoot the dogs would be a better solution

Not much difference between the cost of a 5.56×45mm NATO ammo round and the cost of an ampule of rabies vaccine.  Given the option, a village level inoculation program makes a whole lot more sense and a hell of a lot safer too.  Then think of the blowback of having the Army come into to villages to cull the majority of pets. 

Edited February 13, 2018 by connda

[Cake Monster]

No surprise there then

 

You only have to look at the number of disease ridden, mangy Soi dogs to know that Rabies is just a bite or scratch away.

[StayinThailand2much]

2 minutes ago, Cake Monster said:

No surprise there then

 

You only have to look at the number of disease ridden, mangy Soi dogs to know that Rabies is just a bite or scratch away.

You only need to walk a few hundred metres anywhere in Bangkok at night (when there is no more transportation around); soi dogs following you and barking at you... I'm (usually) not afraid of dogs, mind you, but this rabies thing is scary!

[heybruce]

46 minutes ago, Orton Rd said:

can rabid dog meat be eaten? Better to offer 20 baht for every dead dog brought into collection centers where they could be burned 

Inoculated pets that are accustomed to people will be easy targets, soi dogs much harder.  Guess which animals will be shot.

[mick220675]

Once a year our local vet comes to our village and for a small fee offers to vaccinate all dogs, most people pay. 

 

The road seams to keep the dog population from growing in our village, for every dog born one gets killed on the road. Back in the day when the dog meat man came to the village I would end up buying dogs to save them. Thankfully he is no longer coming and I now have a more manageable pack of only five.

[heybruce]

duplicate post

Edited February 13, 2018 by heybruce

[heybruce]

33 minutes ago, CGW said:

Fantastic, if you believe they do and have done all you say go for it, I choose to question "Big pharma" IMO its stupid to believe anything an industry bent on making money states as fact, off course if you only read the media that they control you may have a one sided view, maybe not? frankly I don't care   http://www.collective-evolution.com/2012/02/18/the-polio-vaccine-myth-the-vaccine-stopped-polio/

I prefer websites such as this:   https://www.webmd.com/children/vaccines/polio-vaccine-ipv#1  

 

Early polio vaccinations may have given people a very mild case of polio, just as early smallpox vaccinations gave people a mild case of smallpox.  That is how the disease resistance was provided.  Vaccinations have been improved and made safer since then.  It's also worth noting that the only places where polio still exists are places where vaccination programs are prevented.

 

I read news sources that have spent decades building a reputation for objectively reporting facts.  The sources that tell us that drug companies spend more on marketing than on R&D, and report on outrageous price increases on life saving drugs.     https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/21/business/a-huge-overnight-increase-in-a-drugs-price-raises-protests.html

 

I don't search the internet for questionable websites that tell me what I want to believe.

[Antonymous]

1 hour ago, heybruce said:

I'm sure some places have it worse than others, but I think rabies is a concern all over Thailand.  It is carried by wild animals and pets that have not been inoculated. 

 

If you are bit by an animal and can not verify the animal has inoculated, see a qualified doctor ASAP.    As noted above, once symptoms have appeared it is too late, and it's a horrible way to die.

It is NOT "...carried by wild animals and pets that have not been inoculated". It is carried by animals that have been infected, usually by being bitten by an infected animal.

 

There are many responsible dog owners who keep their pets within a confined area, like a walled garden, and never allow them to roam outside, or let other dogs inside. I am one such. My dogs have never interacted with other animals. Never inoculated any of my dogs for rabies.

 

So, if you are bitten by a dog, check whether or not it is rabid. Signs are very clear (look it up). Of course if in doubt (a stray that runs off) get the shots.

 

I'm very much against allowing dogs to roam freely in public areas.

[CGW]

9 minutes ago, heybruce said:

I prefer websites such as this:   https://www.webmd.com/children/vaccines/polio-vaccine-ipv#1  

 

Early polio vaccinations may have given people a very mild case of polio, just as early smallpox vaccinations gave people a mild case of smallpox.  That is how the disease resistance was provided.  Vaccinations have been improved and made safer since then.  It's also worth noting that the only places where polio still exists are places where vaccination programs are prevented.

 

I read news sources that have spent decades building a reputation for objectively reporting facts.  The sources that tell us that drug companies spend more on marketing than on R&D, and report on outrageous price increases on life saving drugs.     https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/21/business/a-huge-overnight-increase-in-a-drugs-price-raises-protests.html

 

I don't search the internet for questionable websites that tell me what I want to believe.

As I said, believe what you want, far easier to believe what the MSM tells you is the truth!

[heybruce]

5 minutes ago, Antonymous said:

It is NOT "...carried by wild animals and pets that have not been inoculated". It is carried by animals that have been infected, usually by being bitten by an infected animal.

 

There are many responsible dog owners who keep their pets within a confined area, like a walled garden, and never allow them to roam outside, or let other dogs inside. I am one such. My dogs have never interacted with other animals. Never inoculated any of my dogs for rabies.

 

So, if you are bitten by a dog, check whether or not it is rabid. Signs are very clear (look it up). Of course if in doubt (a stray that runs off) get the shots.

 

I'm very much against allowing dogs to roam freely in public areas.

Yes, it is carried by wild animals and pets that have not been inoculated.  Not all of these have rabies, but rabid animals are in this group.  If you keep your dogs completely isolated from all other animals they will be safe, but they will not be well socialized.