From Friday 14th October to 19th November 2022, the Karatina University Nature Club took a group of 10-12 students to Mpala Research Centre for Laikipia Rabies Vaccination Campaign (LRVC). Laikipia County is one of the counties that has experienced higher numbers of people with rabies.
To fight this, Mpala Research Centre has increased partnerships with local and international organizations including the International Livestock Research Institute, Laikipia County Government, the Smithsonian Global Health Program, the University of Liverpool, and Kenya’s Zoonotic Disease Unit.
Since 2015, Karatina University students have played an integral role in the success of previous campaigns by assisting the dedicated team of vets as they vaccinated over 60,000 domestic dogs and cats. This year, nine thousand (9000) domestic dogs and cats were vaccinated. The ultimate goal is to sustain these efforts over the next few years, thereby, achieving the vaccination coverage necessary to eliminate rabies in Laikipia. Mass vaccination of domestic dogs of this kind has been effective in reducing the burden of rabies around the world.
The vaccination campaign was conducted every Friday and Saturday from Friday, 14th October to 19th November 2022. The student volunteers were involved in interviewing dog owners to collect information useful in evaluating the coverage and success of the campaign and also issuing vaccination cards.
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