The Nature Club
of MES College of Arts and Commerce, Zuarinagar-Vasco and MES Society in collaboration
with the Foundation for Environment Research and Conservation (FERC) as part of
the Kasturi talk series organised a talk on the topic ‘Is the dog great company
or a threat?’. The talk was attended by staff and students of MES College as
well as citizens from in and around Vasco. The guest speaker for this session
was Dr Murugan Appupillai, currently the Director of ‘Mission Rabies’. He is
actively involved in spreading public awareness about the vaccination of dogs
to help make Goa and the nation rabies-free. Education on dog behaviour and
bite prevention for both children and adults can decrease the incidence of
human Rabies and the financial burden of treating dog bites by taking immediate
care, measures and increase its reach.
Dr Appupillai created
awareness about the prevention and spread of Rabies and also stressed upon the
need for the community to understand the importance of getting street dogs
vaccinated particularly during Rabies-free vaccination drives and in order help
to make the nation Rabies free. He highlighted the policies, practices and
strategies relating to Rabies and adopting other approaches for dog population
management. He spoke of how Rabies is 100% preventable by timely vaccination
and sterilisation and undertaking vital safety measures for dog bites. Dr
Murugan also spoke about the different approaches adopted by the World Health
Organisation (WHO) to eliminate this fatal disease by 2030.
The
session was followed by an active Question and Answer session.
