ITANAGAR, 19 Jan: Health Principal Secretary Dr Sharat Chauhan directed all stakeholder departments to “form a routine channel of communication, emphasise rabies PEP in village health nutrition and sanitation days, and reach out till PHC level for rabies vaccine supply.”
Chairing an intra-departmental stakeholders’ meeting on ‘one health approach’ to combat zoonosis (diseases that transmit from animals to humans) at the civil secretariat here on Thursday, Dr Chauhan emphasised on “training all medical officers on intra-dermal route of rabies vaccine delivery” and on “removing apprehension of rabies immunoglobulin usage,” the state surveillance unit informed in a release.
Themed ‘One health approach for climate change and human health-cum-zoonosis control and prevention’, the meeting was organised by the State Environment Health Cell (SEHC) and the State One Health Committee (SOHC).
SEHC & SOHC nodal officer Dr Dukam Taipodia highlighted “the unfortunate cases of 100 percent preventable rabies deaths in the state,” while SEHC & SOHC consultant Dr Bomto Riram spoke on “the status update and the way forward for the national one health programme on prevention and control of zoonosis and climate change and human health,” the release said.
Dr Riram noted that “the performance in the state has significantly increased, compared to previous years,” and added that, “with increase in supply of rabies vaccines to the PHC level in a phase-wise manner and properly planned IEC, dog-mediated rabies has to be eliminated from the state by 2030.”
He called for “prioritising implementation of cool roofing (painting the roof white with paint/lime) across all health facilities in the state as a cheap way of climate resilience.”
Drs Tanu Jasuja and Kuldeep Debnath, representing US-based Johns Hopkins Programme for International Education in Gynaecology & Obstetrics, stressed on the role of the stakeholder departments to complete the ‘one health approach’ in the state.
Animal Husbandry SVO Dr Gamnya Baki Garam presented “the perspective of the department on control of zoonosis from animals,” the release said.
Among others, IMC Commissioner Likha Teji, Health Services Director Dr Dondu Wange, IPR Director Onyok Pertin, Agriculture Director Karbom Riram, PHE&WSD CE Taka Tapuk, and Urban Local Bodies Joint Director Nixon Lego participated in the meeting.
