Half a million stray dogs in Iraq.. Traumatized students ahead of the school year

Shafaq News/ Iraqi society is facing a growing dilemma of stray dogs that roam freely near and inside residential areas, streets, markets, and schools. Feral dogs are a common sight in Iraq, though attitudes toward them vary. Some communities feed strays, while in many places dogs are beaten and chased away. However, the overpopulation of stray dogs remains major animal welfare and public health concern that the authorities shall heed more keenly.

Rabies remains the biggest red flag that engenders from this phenomenon. Almost all human rabies deaths occur following bites from infected dogs who do not live in household settings.

Following an upsurge in rabies across the country, the Iraqi Ministry of Health has issued repeated warnings and called for "extermination campaigns".

Shortage of medications

The emergency hospital west of Erbil recently warned about the scarcity of anti-rabies medications, noting that it had registered 325 stray dog attacks during the past six months.

According to Basra resident Karrar Ali, stray dogs are particularly common in slums, villages, and rural areas, "These dogs roam in herds; therefore, we started to prohibit our children from going out."

Given that school is about to start and that he does not have a car to drive his kids to school, Ali does not hide his worry about his kids being attacked by stray dogs.

Ali encouraged the relevant authorities to "take decisive efforts to restrict the spread of stray dogs that terrify children."

Rabies

According to veterinarian Jabbar al-Zubaidy, "rabies" is a fatal viral disease spread from animal to human and has no known cure. Both domestic and wild animals can spread the virus, and vaccination is available to prevent it.

Al-Zubaidy emphasized the need to avoid contact with wild animals, stressing the need for domestic animals to be vaccinated.

"Through saliva or dog bites, this virus can be transmitted from animal to human. If a person is bitten, the vaccination must be administered within 72 hours of the incident."

"The treatment for a bite is to wash the site of infection with soap and water directly, rather than stitching it," he explained, "Stitching causes the virus to transmit to the nerves, and if the infected person does not receive the vaccine, the virus will be transmitted through the blood to the nerves and brain, causing death."

Symptoms

According to al-Zubaidy, "If the patients do not get the vaccine, they will eventually pass away. The symptoms of "rabies" include vomiting, fever, nausea, delirium, insomnia, and a fear of touching the water."

He also stressed the importance of addressing the stray animals crisis. With the start of the school year, and to avoid exposing children to these bites, the Veterinary Department announced a campaign to address the situation by killing or sterilizing stray dogs.

Half a million dogs

Due to the many complaints they get from residents, the competent services occasionally run campaigns to eliminate stray dogs in Iraqi cities.

According to estimates from the Iraqi government and civil bodies, there are more than 500,000 stray dogs in the country, with more than 100,000 in Baghdad.

Qusai Ne'ma al-Hasnawi, the director of the Public Health Department at al-Karkh Health Directorate in Baghdad, stated that there have been "900 cases of rabies recorded this year and that everyone who is bitten by a dog receives four to five booster shots," noting that there is a lack of vaccines in health institutions due to their high cost.

He noted that the number of stray dogs in the capital ranges from 150 to 200 thousand, 6,000 of which have been eliminated. However, a significant number continue to endanger citizens," calling for "developing measures to get rid of the rest."

Intensive Campaign

The Karbala Veterinary Hospital increased its effort to manage the crisis by "increasing the committees' work in the city center and districts, coinciding with the beginning of the school year", According to Dr. Wissam al-Jabiri, the hospital's director.

Al-Jabiri urged "directors and principals to communicate with the veterinary hospital and report stray dogs if they are found near schools" because "this campaign was launched at the beginning of this month, covering areas where there is a large presence of stray dogs, and close to schools and kindergartens."

Article 48 of the Law on Curbing Stray Dogs of 1986 stipulates that stray dogs on public roads, outside homes, cities, and rural areas shall be eliminated by killing, sniping, or any other method, and the Minister of Agriculture shall have the right to issue instructions on the proposal of the competent department to address the situation.