This year, dog attacks on humans resulting in bites of different levels of severity have surpassed 3,000, which is the annual average registered in recent years.
According to data from the General Office of Epidemiology, as of November 30th, there are 3,429 documented reports of people bitten by dogs, 1,752 men and 1,677 women.
This figure is 20 percent higher than the number recorded last year, which was 2,836 attacks, exceeding this figure by almost 10 percent. However, despite the number of attacks, the state of Yucatán remains free from cases of human rabies transmitted by a dog bite.
Meanwhile, Arturo Rodríguez Mezquita, a member of the Yucatan Veterinary School of Small-Species, A.C. (Comvepe) mentioned that attacks on humans are already a public health problem in the state.
The veterinarian said that half of the people who are bitten by any of these animals require anti-rabies treatment, because usually the origin of the dog is unknown, and the victims cannot tell if the canine has its vaccines up to date or not.
“It is necessary to make the population aware of the responsible ownership of pets, since many people, after buying or adopting them, abandon the dogs in the street, where they reproduce without control, contract diseases and attack people, which aggravates the situation, as there is always the possibility of a case of rabies,” he said.
He mentioned that the Ministry of Health of Yucatan (SSY) carries out campaigns for the sterilization of dogs and cats, which are important, but insufficient, due to the large number of stray dogs that roam the streets of Mérida.
“There are people who are attacked by dogs and they just don’t care, but they must go to the doctor for a check-up and treatment, and make sure that the animal is not infected, to rule out a possible case of rabies.
Source: The Yucatan Times
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