Suspected rabid dog bites 18 in Kano’s Garko LGA, NFSS deploys officers

At least 18 people were bitten by a dog suspected to have rabies in Garko Local Government Area of Kano State, the Nigerian Forest Security Service said.

The NFSS Kano State Command said the animal first attacked 11 people in Garko town before moving to neighbouring communities, where seven more people were bitten in Raba, Kadage, Gurjiya and Dausai. The information was provided in a statement from the service’s Kano command and reported by two national outlets.

The command also said two additional dogs are suspected to be infected, bringing the total number of animals under suspicion to three. Personnel from the NFSS Garko Division were deployed to the affected communities to track and contain the animals, the service said.

In a statement signed by the command’s public relations officer, Usman Abdullahi-Umar, NFSS State Commander Abdullahi Al’ameen described how the incident began.

“The command received a distress report at about 2 p.m. that a dog suspected to be rabid has attacked residents in Garko town,” Al’ameen said in the statement. (Source: Punch)

Daily Post reported that officers led by the Divisional Forest Officer, Auwalu Muhammad, were searching for the animals and aiming to neutralise any that posed an immediate threat. The service warned the dogs could spread rabies among residents and other animals if not contained.

“The mad dog has bitten other dogs here, we are not certain how many yet. After the mad dog was out of town, another one started to run mad as well,” an NFSS officer told Daily Post by phone. (Source: Daily Post)

Both outlets said the NFSS urged residents of Garko and neighbouring communities to remain vigilant, report sightings of stray or suspected rabid dogs to the nearest NFSS office or other security agencies, and to seek immediate medical attention if bitten.

The NFSS added it would continue monitoring the situation and take necessary measures to prevent further attacks while its officers carry out searches in the affected communities.

For the statements by the service see the original reports from Punch and Daily Post.

Featured image: Jonathan Riddell uploaded and derivative work: MrPanyGoff via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.