EPHI Providing Rabies Prevention & Control Training

The Ethiopian Public Health’s (EPHI) Parasitic, Bacteriology and Zoonosis Directorate (PBZD) is piloting a training titled One Health Approach Towards Rabies Prevention and Control to health workers from all the sub cities’ health stations of Addis Ababa.
The training is given in rounds and the first two rounds are conducted starting from August 7 – 12, 2017.
Dr. Assefa Deressa from EPHI’s PBZD who is coordinating the training explained that the major aim of the training is to share the experiences of consultation, control and prevention of rabies EPHI acquired through many years to the health workers from the 10 Addis Ababa sub city’s health workers.
“EPHI has been solely providing rabies prevention, control and consultation based on the standards of the World Health Organization. But now the plan, after this training, is to decentralize this service to the sub city health stations so that they will be able to manage cases. And also after the necessary preparations are through they will also provide the rabies vaccination. In addition to the health workers there are also veterinarians on the training,” said Dr. Assefa.
Previously when the sub cities’ health stations encounter rabies case they send the sample to EPHI for further laboratory examination and the patient or EPHI is responsible to deliver the result, but from now on it will be the health stations which receive samples and deliver the results.
According to Dr. Abrham Haile from EPHI’s PBZD the training is planned to be delivered to 450 health workers and already 300 have been trained in the first two rounds and the third will be conducted soon and after the third round the same training will be extended to the regions.