South China's Guangdong Province has reported 265 cases of
rabies from January to September this year, 25 percent up on the
previous year, according to the provincial department of
health.
About 65 percent of the cases were contracted from dog bites or
scratches and over 95 percent of the rabies patients were infected
in rural areas where there are a lot of animals, according to a
report on the epidemic issued by the department.
Child victims below the age of 15 account for 22 percent of the
total with the youngest being two, the report says.
During the period, more than 1.5 million people were scratched
or bitten by animals in the province, it says.
A lack of prevention knowledge and a lack of effective
prevention measures are key factors in the increase in rabies
cases, according to local health authorities.
China reported 2,254 rabies cases in the first nine months of
the year, a year-on-year increase of 29.69 percent. A total of
2,053 people died from the disease nationwide.
The country is launching a massive campaign to register and
inoculate animals to fight against rabies, a fatal viral disease
transmitted through animal bites and the most deadly infectious
disease in China this year.
In the Chinese capital Beijing, about 550,000 dogs were
registered in 2006, an increase of 90,000 on last year, but
statistics from the Beijing Association of Small Animal Protection
indicate the city has just as many unregistered dogs.
More than 110,000 people in Beijing were given anti-rabies
inoculations after being bitten or scratched by dogs or cats in the
first nine months of the year, and the city has reported 10
deaths.
Local authorities have begun a two-month campaign to remove
stray dogs from the capital's streets.
Currently, Beijing has 45 outpatient clinics that provide
inoculations against rabies and they have been told to stay open 24
hours a day and make regular reports to local centers for disease
control and prevention.
(China Daily October 30, 2006)