A personal contribution to fighting rabies in KwaZulu-Natal

Mduduzi Michael Mtshali, a Senior Animal Health Technician in the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, shares his experiences.

When the new political dispensation came to South Africa in 1994, the whole of KwaZulu-Natal was engulfed in severe rabies outbreaks, with the highest incidences of rabies experienced in 1997. Drastic steps by the state to fight the rabies scourge were inevitable. The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs then approached rabies vaccination in a unique manner by forming a subdivision solely responsible for rabies eradication and control. It has been headed by the Provincial Rabies Project Manager who coordinates and organizes mass campaigns that are carried out jointly by all the state’s veterinary areas under the auspices of different animal health control technicians. This has been a major step forward in the attempt to eradicate the rabies disease because it ensures that vaccine and equipment are provided for the staff to carry out vaccinations. The rabies project has done a sterling job in organizing mass rabies campaigns in rural and peri-urban areas of all municipalities of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

However, there was a significant gap in the programme. It did not carry out awareness campaigns that were able to reach all levels of society with information about rabies and how to prevent it. As a field worker, I had seen several times how we arrived in a community only to find that people were not aware of the prevalence of rabies in the province. That is where I felt I could personally make a difference in fighting the rabies scourge.

At a meeting that was held at Ixopo, I stood up and proposed a radio talk focused on rabies. Convinced of its value, I continued to pursue this idea. I visited Radio Ukhozi, the studios and offices of South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) in Durban, where I explained to them about rabies and the need to have a radio talk show. At first I was offered 1 hour and 30 minutes on the current affairs programme. That talk show was miraculous because so many people called that all the lines were full throughout the talk. I was asked especially to remain in studio for the next hour. By that time my office was inundated with calls from throughout the province.

Radio Ukhozi caters to Zulu-speaking listenership, with around 8 million listeners in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Free State, Eastern Cape as well as neighbouring countries such as Swaziland and Lesotho. These radio talks have contributed immensely in fighting the rabies scourge in KwaZulu-Natal and other areas. They told people how to get effective treatment for bites; helped to inform vaccination programmes that consider the local ecology of the dogs; involved linking across sectors; and facilitated ethnically suitable education efforts to illiterate or semi-illiterate people who are in the majority in KwaZulu-Natal. The talks became a proactive means to build community participation and empowerment in rabies control activities and were a key factor in the success of the dog vaccination campaigns in KwaZulu-Natal.

The vaccination programme in KwaZulu-Natal managed to reverse the upward trend of rabies cases and is edging close to elimination, but outreach is still needed to ensure the sustainability of rabies vaccination. Recent radio talks had been conducted together with different prominent figures like the KwaZulu-Natal Member of Executive Council (MEC) for Agriculture and Environmental Affairs and other senior managers to maintain the awareness of rabies disease. There have been several invitations to address nurses in hospitals, health workers, livestock associations, agricultural shows, MECs, and traditional leaders on rabies. For World Rabies Day in 2015, I organized all 11 radio stations in KwaZulu-Natal to speak with one voice on the elimination of rabies.

I have always believed that cooperation between community members and Veterinary Services staff is the key in curbing animal diseases such as rabies, and it has been a pleasure to contribute in this way.

Michael Mtshali graduated with a Master of Agriculture degree from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in April 2014, conducting research on the Effectiveness of the house-to-house rabies vaccination programme in Magabheni Township. In June 2015, he received The KwaZulu-Natal Premier Gold Award for the best Frontline Public Service employee of the year and was a finalist in the National Awards.