Lima.- Peru’s health authorities have completed the vaccination of more than 10,000 members of the country’s indigenous communities considered “at high risk” for the transmission of wild rabies, the Ministry of Health (MINSA) reported on Tuesday.
The ministry specified that it has already administered the third dose to a total of 10,846 people, which is equivalent to 72.2% of the target population established in the Human Rabies Vaccination Plan for pre-exposure against wild rabies.
The free campaign seeks to protect a total of 14,911 members of indigenous communities in the regions of Amazonas, Cuzco, Loreto, Ucayali, Ayacucho, Madre de Dios, Junín and Pasco with three doses.
“The people to be protected with three doses live in priority localities and indigenous communities at high risk of transmission of wild rabies, caused by the bite of wild animals that carry the deadly rabies virus in their saliva,” said the Director of Prevention. and Control of Metaxenic Diseases and Zoonoses (DPCEM), Karim Pardo.
The Minsa added that rabies is “one of the great public health problems” of the country “because it is fatal once the symptoms of the disease appear, but can be prevented if the person is protected promptly with the complete vaccination scheme”.
Vaccine progress
“The advance in vaccination coverage is due to the important action of the brigades, which intensified their work from July to December of this year,” Pardo said before saying that the military also “constitute a vulnerable group” because they travel in areas of the country “where they may also suffer accidents due to the bite of wild animals”.
He added that, for this reason, 12,595 doses have already been administered to officers, technicians, non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel of the Peruvian Army, Navy and Air Force stationed in Lima and other regions of the country.
In total, he said, 10,300 servicemen are expected to be protected with three doses of the vaccine.
The implementation of the vaccination plan complies with the technical standard and the Minsa health directive for the “administration of the pre-exposure human rabies vaccine in the populations of areas endemic and exposed to the risk of wild rabies” in the country, the ministry concluded. EFE extension
