On the occasion of World Rabies Day, the Director of New Crystal Health Services, Dr. Michael Ohene Tawiah is calling on government to create more awareness about the deadly nature of rabies.

This, he believes, would lead to the training of healthcare professionals so they can offer the appropriate treatment immediately one is bitten by a rabies-infected dog.

“We regretfully cite a case in point where the hospital lost a 4 year old patient who was transferred to our facility because of delays in seeking the right treatment for him and the administering of a tetanus injection by a health care professional of another facility due to the wrongful assumption that it could treat him,” Dr. Tawiah recalled.

He said the fact that over 55,000 people die of rabies each year and about 95 percent of these deaths occur in Asia and Africa alone is a cause for concern, adding that New Crystal is completely in support of this year’s theme, “Rabies: understand it to defeat it.”

Dr. Akonor said there are safe and effective vaccines available so education focused on responsible pet ownership, which involves proper feeding and prompt vaccination would yield results.

He also said there is need to train professionals on how to properly confiscate and destroy stray animals, eliminate unwanted pups by spraying or neutering of pets, adding that government intervention through the provision of funds for annual rabies vaccination is also imperative.

“We commend government on the mass vaccination activities that it embarked on in the past as a way of dealing with the issue, but urge it to do more to ensure that people, especially children do not die a preventable death from the bite of a rabied dog,” Dr. Akonor said.

New Crystal Health Services is a private medical facility with 6 branches and 2 healthcare assistant training institutes across the country. The facility has over 300,000 clients and provides 24hour comprehensive medical care at all its branches. The hospital is committed to providing the best of care for its clients as well as the communities in which it operates.