By Regina Kwapong
Biomedical Scientist, Dr. Jennifer Afua Afrifa Yamoah, has disclosed that plans are underway to collaborate with the World Health Organisation in order to eliminate rabies in Ghana by 2030.
As part of the commemoration of this year’s World Rabies Day, a day set aside to discuss and educate on topics surrounding rabies, Dr. Yamoah mentioned that collaboration with stakeholders like FAO, the Global Alliance, and the World Organisation for Animal Health is imminent in achieving the elimination of rabies by 2030.
The World Health Organisation estimates that by 2030, 92% of countries in the world could eliminate dog-mediated human rabies deaths by 50%. Speaking to this, Dr. Yamoah explained on GTV’s Breakfast show that rabies has become a highly fatal infectious disease and its transmission is subtly on the rise in Ghana.
According to her, humans can be infected when exposed to the virus since it is a viral infection. She added that, even though rabies is dog-mediated, it can be transmitted by other mammals, but in Ghana, transmission is highly done by dogs.
