Only one rabies case reported in 2024: Colombo Municipal Council

By Leenah Wahab   

Over the last two years, there have been only two cases of  rabies per year, and only one recorded within city limits in 2024, the  Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) said yesterday.  

Chief Municipal Veterinary Surgeon, Dr. M. Ijas said there  have been zero human rabies deaths this year due to continuous efforts  to vaccinate and sterilize stray dogs. “Over the last 15- 20 years,  there have been only two rabies-related deaths. One was a child bitten  by a domestic dog, and the other was a rubbish collector who had  contracted the disease outside city limits,” he said.   

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) data, Sri  Lanka has achieved a successful reduction of human rabies deaths from  377 in the mid-1970s to 31 in 2021. While the data voiced concerns over  anti-rabies vaccine shortages, Dr. Ijas assured that dog vaccinations  still continued, and the Ministry of Health had refilled stocks of  Post-Exposure Prophylaxis shots for humans.   

 Further, Dr. Ijas estimated that the number of stray dogs  was less than 1,500, and diminishing. Of the 1500, most are semi-owned  by the community, and less than 500 are true strays.  

“The CMC conducts door-to-door rabies injections throughout  the year, so the risk of contracting rabies through dog bite is almost  non-existent.”