Iowa ADT drives Kunar rabies control efforts

Photo By Capt. Peter Shinn | U.S. Army Maj. Loren Adams of New Liberty, Iowa, the ADT's veterinary officer, educates nearly a hundred students of Asadabad University on rabies prevention and control April 14.  

KUNAR PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN

04.22.2011

Story by Capt. Peter Shinn 

Combined Joint Task Force 101

KUNAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Members of the Iowa National Guard’s 734th Agribusiness Development Team presented rabies prevention education to approximately 500 students at a high school in Asadabad, April 9, and at Asadabad University April 14.

U.S. Army Maj. Loren Adams of New Liberty, Iowa, is the ADT’s veterinary officer. He explained rabies prevention education for local children is part of a larger rabies control and prevention program the ADT initiated for the greater Asadabad area.

“Children are most likely to get rabies, because they’re most likely to get bitten by a dog, so the program involves a lot of public outreach and education, combined with an effort by the provincial veterinarian to get 70 percent of the dogs in the Asadabad area vaccinated for rabies,” Adams said. “He and a half-dozen other veterinarians have been hard at it since the beginning of April, and so far, they’ve vaccinated 1,170 dogs.”

According to Adams, he has gotten several questions from friends and colleagues in the United States about why he, an ADT veterinarian, has advanced a rabies control and prevention program in Kunar Province. The answer, Adams said, is the need here is great.

“Back in September, when we’d only been here a few weeks, I consulted with the Nuristan Provincial Reconstruction Team, which was dealing with a rabies outbreak up there that killed four people,” Adams said. “That got my attention, and as I looked into it, I found that the top veterinarian in the Ministry (of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock) at Kabul, Dr. Mohibullah Halimi, had a strong interest in controlling rabies in seven of Afghanistan’s largest cities. He was developing a program similar to mine and offered his encouragement.”

Adams’ key partner in the rabies control and prevention effort is Kunar Provincial Veterinarian Dr. Mohammed Ghalib, who is directing the efforts to vaccinate dogs in the Asadabad area. Ghalib praised the program and confirmed its necessity here.

“This program is very good because rabies is a big problem in Kunar,” Ghalib said. “I have seen it, all of the veterinarians have seen it, either in animals or in people.”

Nevertheless, Adams said the ADT’s involvement in the rabies control and prevention effort in Kunar Province is rapidly drawing to a close. Ghalib and his veterinarians will vaccinate dogs for five more days, and an additional educational session is planned at the school for girls in Asadabad. At that point, Adams continued, the provincial Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan will have to decide whether to continue, expand or end the program.

“We’ve shown them what a rabies control program looks like and how to do it,” Adams said. “Now we will see in the coming year if the local government here believes the program is important enough to continue.”

• Date Taken: 04.22.2011
• Date Posted: 04.21.2011 18:45
• Story ID: 69136
• Location: KUNAR PROVINCE, AF