Over 12 days they walked 4,500 kilometres around the streets of Malawi's second city, Blantyre, in a tireless effort to eradicate rabies from the impoverished nation where a bite can spell certain death
The project has significance at home as well as in the heat and dust of an impoverished sub-Saharan nation
But the project has significance at home as well as in the heat and dust of an impoverished sub-Saharan nation.
Rabies was banished from the UK in 1922 but open European borders have meant a huge spike in gangs smuggling unregistered, unvaccinated pets and the spectre of its lethal return.
'This is an immediate matter of life or death in Malawi but the rabies threat to the UK is also real,' adds TV vet Luke Gamble, who is steering the project which is funded by Dogs Trust.
'We are seeing cases of rabies in Europe and our borders are so porous that it is now a matter of when not if a rabid dog comes in and we would never forgive ourselves if that dog bit a child.
'The mission to stamp out rabies is critical. It is a terrible way to die yet it is completely avoidable.
'The team has been incredible. These are volunteers, who have taken time off work or studies, to get up at 4am and work till dark to get the job done. They have taken a huge step to eradicating rabies in Malawi and protecting our own borders.'
Malawi, regularly ranked in the five poorest countries in the world by economic indicators, has only four vets dealing with small pets in a population of 16 million where almost 60% of homes own a dog.
The veterinary laboratory in Blantyre, which serves the country's southern region, has a government budget of £42 a month and post mortems on rabid dogs are performed on a table in its back yard because its premises are so small.
Its staff of seven were operating without a working fridge or microscope before Mission Rabies and Dogs Trust came to the rescue.
Malawi, regularly ranked in the five poorest countries in the world by economic indicators, has only four vets dealing with small pets in a population of 16 million where almost 60% of homes own a dog (pictured Kate Shervell)
'This is an immediate matter of life or death in Malawi but the rabies threat to the UK is also real,' adds TV vet Luke Gamble, who is steering the project which is funded by Dogs Trust
The veterinary laboratory in Blantyre, which serves the country's southern region, has a government budget of £42 a month and post mortems on rabid dogs are performed on a table in its back yard because its premises are so small.
Blood tests on suspected rabid animals that take around 48 hours in the UK have to be sent to the capital Lilongwe and delays can stretch up to a month, leaving the disease to incubate beyond its treatment window in a human.
Post-exposure vaccines are so scarce that they are normally not given until it has been confirmed the dog was a carrier.
'I am overwhelmed by how poor the country is and what little facilities they have,' said Paula Boyden, Veterinary Director at Dogs Trust, who helped out on the project.
'We shouldn't be wrestling with a disease that is so preventable in the 21st century. There are 50,000 to 60,000 rabies deaths a year and the rate of child deaths is appalling.
'The incidence in Europe has decreased dramatically but we now have the pet travel scheme with 26 member states which means you can get in your car in Eastern Europe and drive all the way to the coast of France without getting stopped.
'The risk of us getting rabies is low but it is a reality and some of the eastern European countries are still classed having a moderate rabies risk.
'It is not a disease we want in the UK which is why we will continue raising our concerns about the pet travel scheme.
'Mission Rabies is doing a phenomenal job and the dedication of the guys out here is impressive.'
At a pop-up Mission Rabies clinic, five miles from the centre of Blantyre – named after the birth town of the explorer Dr David Livingstone – the dawn calm is shattered by a cacophony of dogs waiting to be vaccinated.
Blood tests on suspected rabid animals that take around 48 hours in the UK have to be sent to the capital Lilongwe and delays can stretch up to a month, leaving the disease to incubate beyond its treatment window in a human
Post-exposure vaccines are so scarce that they are normally not given until it has been confirmed the dog was a carrier
The team race through 1ml doses of the Nobivac drug - donated by pharmaceutical firm MSD – working as a drilled production line to administer almost 1,000 vaccinations in the day (pictured Luke Gamble who is running the Mission Rabies project)
The team race through 1ml doses of the Nobivac drug - donated by pharmaceutical firm MSD – working as a drilled production line to administer almost 1,000 vaccinations in the day.
The dogs, often held on rudimentary chain link leads, keep coming – the public alerted by a street loud-hailer campaign the days before – ranging from a litter of puppies to fully grown dogs straining at their leashes.
Kate, who has been badly bitten twice on the project, and the team face anything from the compliant to the ferocious and she is forced to take a giant handling net to restrain one dog that corkscrews its owner's lead to avoid its jab.
'You have a lot of near misses but one dog chomped on my arm and blood spurted out of my arm and it painted the surgery building red. It wasn't rabid but it was a nasty bite,' adds Kate. 'I had nerve pain for about two months afterwards and it really brings home how dangerous a bite can be.
'The people are very grateful and many know of someone who has died from dog bites. It is just unacceptable that children and adults can die from this disease when it can be stopped. We have shown what can be achieved and now need commitment, boots on the ground and investment to eradicate this for good.'
Mike Saweya, 16, is typical of the Blantyre dog owners. He has walked two miles barefoot to the clinic.
'I don't want my dogs to get rabies. I know if someone gets rabies they will die. I have heard about children getting bitten and then dying from it. We know it is bad.'
The project has just reached its 100-day landmark with the remarkable total of more than 350,000 dogs vaccinated, 50,000 neutered, 500,000 children educated and 73 new vets trained at schemes across Asia and Africa.
The dogs, often held on rudimentary chain link leads, keep coming – the public alerted by a street loud-hailer campaign the days before – ranging from a litter of puppies to fully grown dogs straining at their leashes (pictured vet Eithne Leahy)
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The project has just reached its 100-day landmark with the remarkable total of more than 350,000 dogs vaccinated, 50,000 neutered, 500,000 children educated and 73 new vets trained at schemes across Asia and Africa (pictured Dr Golden who runs a rabies lab in Blantyre)
If they can reach 70% of dogs again in Malawi for a third successive year in 2017, the disease should be defeated.
For Kate, whose husband Neil is a musician, the fight continues with a planned return to Malawi next year and other Mission Rabies projects in Uganda and India.
'Using my vet's training and knowledge where it has a huge impact is very rewarding,' says the 35-year-old Bristol University graduate, who is Mission Rabies' International Director.
'It is also incredible to visit these places and communities where it is not common for a Westerner to be walking around vaccinating their dogs.
'I guess I'm never going to blend in as I look different from most people in Malawi. They are friendly and curious and we often get groups of children following us around and they are pretty helpful because they know which houses have dogs.
'Neil has come out to help on projects and really enjoyed it. He is really supportive of me but obviously misses me when I'm not home. It's tough but he understands why I do it and supports my ideals and dreams so I'm lucky in that way.'
Dorset-based Luke, who stars in Sky TV's Vet's Adventures and runs the global charity Worldwide Veterinary Services, adds: 'We cannot allow children to die every day from rabies.
'We have a target of vaccinating two million dogs over the next three years and to eradicate rabies completely by 2030. We couldn't do that without the help of the volunteers who are determined to do something to help get rid of this terrifying and avoidable disease.'
Its staff of seven were operating without a working fridge or microscope before Mission Rabies and Dogs Trust came to the rescue
Kate is forced to take a giant handling net to restrain one dog that corkscrews its owner's lead to avoid its jab
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发表于 14-6-2016 01:09 PM
安可，我强烈怀疑你的脑被疯狗病毒破坏了。。。还是你本来就没有？？？
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