The Department of Agriculture, Environmental Affairs, Rural Development and Land Reform's State Veterinary Unit went doing door to door assisting with Rabies vaccinations in Louisville just a stone throw from Upington in the ZF Mgcawu District Municipality.
The team braced the scorching heat of Kalahari to evaluate both dogs and cats for Rabies in the District. Part of the drive is to ensure that Distemper disease is not present in the area. Canine Distemper is a highly infectious, severe disease caused by a virus. It affects the stomach and intestine, lungs and airways, the brain and the nervous system leading to "flu-like" symptoms, vomiting, diarrhea, "crusty" eyes/blue or foggy eyes and general unwellness. Dogs may have fits and twitches and sometimes have seizures. While Rabies is a zoonotic disease (transmitted from animals to humans) that can affect all mammals. It affects the brain, causing death in both people and animals.
People most commonly get Rabies from being bitten by a dog or a cat that has the disease.The drive is a build-up programme by Provincial Sector Department's within the target District. It is also an engagement day or inter-action of communities with Members of the Executive Council in-conjuction with the host Municipality, on the last Thursday of each month. Meanwhile the Awareness Raising Communications unit enlighten about 100 Communities in Endangered Species of the Northern Cape and Eco schools, while the Producer Support Unit handed out seeds and compost to the communities in Augrabies. The build-up paved a way for the Open Day Engagements on the 17th of August 2022 where the Northern Cape Premier Dr Zamani Saul together with His MEC entourage converged in Louisvale Community Hall for the community engagement.
About 201 dogs and 39 cats have been vaccinated for Rabies by the D
epartment's Veterinary Unit in Louisvale and Louisvale Weg in Upington.