Bauchi Govt Purchases 10,000 Doses of Anti-Rabies Vaccines

From Paul Orude Bauchi

The Bauchi State government has purchased 10,000 doses of anti-rabies vaccines to prevent rabies caused by dog bites in the state.

This was disclosed by Governor Bala Mohammed while speaking during the flag off the 2025 Livestock Vaccination campaign in Itas-Gadau Local Government Area.

Mohammed said that the vaccines would be distributed to all the veterinary clinics across the 20 local government areas of the state to curb the escalation of the disease.

He disclosed that the State recorded 200 cases of dog bites in 2024, with 23 cases of Rabies disease confirmed.

He said the administration provided the vaccines considering the deadly nature of rabies which is zoonotic disease transmitted through dog bite by unvaccinated dog.

The Governor called on people keeping dogs as pets, for hunting or for security reasons to carry them to the nearest veterinary clinics for vaccination free of charge

The governor disclosed tthat the administration has earmarked the sum of N80.9 million for the 2025 annual Livestock vaccination which targets 1 million herds of cattle, 500 sheep and goats as well as 500 poultry.

Mohammed said that this year’s vaccination campaign had been prioritised towards fighting diseases such as contagious bovine Pneumonia, CPP and Cattle Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) for Sheep and Goats, and Newcastle disease.

He disclosed that the sum of N80.9 million was budgeted to conduct the by-annual livestock vaccination campaign with an initial release of N40 million.

“For this round of vaccination campaign, the total of 1 million herds of cattle, 500 sheep and goats as well as 500 poultry are targeted to be vaccinated across the state”, he said.

He pledged the commitment of his administration to providing additional vaccines if the need arises.

He assured that the government would continue to work tirelessly towards a healthy livestock population in Bauchi state.

Mohammed appreciated the importance of the veterinary sector in public health, preventive medicine and food security safety, among others.

He noted that the veterinary sector had played a vital role in the control of emerging cases of diseases most of which he said were zoonotic in nature.

To strengthen the role of veterinary profession in the livestock value chain, Bauchi state government has keyed into the World Bank assisted Livestock Productivity, Resilient Support project aimed at transforming the livestock sector, he added.

Mohammed further disclosed that World Bank Project has trained 100 veterinary and herdsmen health officers on disease monitoring and investigation, 100 livestock farmers on the usage of crop residues as livestock feeds during the off-season, 80 pastoralists, women on milk hygiene and collection to ensure products would be packaged in a manner that is healthy.