Online Reporter
Trust Freddy
Herald Correspondent
Dogs have bitten about 26 000 people nationwide since the beginning of the year, the latest disease surveillance report shows.
According to the Ministry of Health and Child Care’s report for the week ending November 24, there were 610 dog bites reported, but no deaths.
Of these, 149 were bitten by vaccinated dogs, 135 by unvaccinated dogs, and 326 by dogs of unknown status.
The highest number of dog bites came from Midlands, which reported 105 bites, followed by Mashonaland West Province with 81 bites.
Cumulatively, since the beginning of the year there have been 25 820 dog bites reported and zero deaths.
The ministry also reported 122 snake bites during the same week, with no deaths.
This brings the total number of snake bites in the country to 3 539 so far this year.
The death toll from snake bites has remained low, with 15 deaths reported.
Meanwhile, during the week ending November 24, 17 new anthrax cases and no deaths were reported.
The cases were reported from Gokwe South District (9) and Gokwe North District (8) in Midlands Province.
The cumulative figures for anthrax cases were 468 and zero deaths.
Harare City Council recently announced that it will enforce dog licensing by-laws after years of neglect.
According to city by-laws, households on plots smaller than 2 000 square meters, including high and middle-density suburbs and most gated complexes, are limited to two pets, while those on larger plots are allowed up to four. These limits were imposed in the early 1970s although they have not been enforced in the past.
It has been illegal for decades to allow dogs to roam the streets without control, but that by-law will now be enforced once again, along with the requirement that all dogs be licensed, with higher fees for possessing unspayed bitches.
Those who defy the local authority’s by-laws risk being imprisoned for six months, paying a fine, or both.
This comes at a time when Masvingo City Council considered engaging the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to kill stray canines in the city after a record 87 residents were bitten by dogs since the beginning of the year.v
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