FCTA Launches Mass Vaccination, Targets 20,000 Dogs, Cats Against Rabies

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has begun a two-week mass vaccination campaign aimed at immunising between 15,000 and 20,000 dogs and cats across the six area councils of the territory.

The exercise is being coordinated by the Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat as part of efforts to contain rabies following confirmed cases in parts of the FCT.

The Mandate Secretary of the secretariat, Sulieman Ango, disclosed this on Wednesday while monitoring the exercise in Gwagwalada Area Council.

Ango said more than 100 veterinary officers had been deployed to strategic locations across the territory, with the vaccination campaign expected to cover all 62 wards.

He explained that vaccination would take place daily at designated centres throughout the two-week exercise, with veterinary teams working to reach as many animals as possible.

“We have the firm conviction that by vaccinating 15,000 to 20,000 dogs and cats, we are going to stop the spread of the virus,” Ango said.

He added that the available two-week window was considered sufficient for the veterinary teams to achieve the target.

The intervention follows the detection of rabies cases in Gwagwalada and Kwali area councils, prompting the FCTA to intensify surveillance and vaccination efforts to prevent the disease from spreading to other parts of the territory.

Ango said veterinary authorities had not recorded any new cases outside the two affected area councils since the intervention began.

He appealed to residents to cooperate with veterinary officers by presenting their dogs and cats for vaccination, stressing that the exercise was free of charge at designated centres across the six area councils.

The Director of Veterinary Services, Dr Karnak Dandam, described rabies as one of the deadliest but most preventable diseases, stressing that vaccination of animals remained a critical measure in breaking the chain of transmission.

According to him, the danger becomes particularly severe once an infected person develops clinical symptoms.

“Rabies is a very deadly disease. Once a rabid dog bites a human being and the clinical signs set in, there is no survival, but it is 100 per cent preventable once the dogs are vaccinated,” Dandam said.

The FCTA had on July 15 confirmed eight rabies cases and two deaths in the territory, after which the administration announced plans for a territory-wide vaccination campaign.

Rabies is primarily transmitted to humans through the bite or scratch of an infected animal, with dogs remaining a major source of human infections globally.

The current campaign is therefore expected to serve both as a preventive measure and an opportunity for veterinary authorities to strengthen surveillance of potentially infected animals across communities.

The FCTA has urged residents to ensure that their dogs and cats are vaccinated and to promptly report animals suspected of showing signs of rabies to veterinary authorities.

The administration also appealed to residents to make their animals available to veterinary teams during the exercise, saying widespread vaccination was essential to preventing further infections and deaths in the territory.