5000 dogs culled in China in an anti rabies campaign

China has culled nearly 5,000 dogs in an anti-rabies campaign in the southwest Yunnan province after the viral disease claimed five human lives in the past three months. The municipal government of Baoshan has killed 4,900 dogs and vaccinated other one lakh to stop the threat, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. The five human casualties, one in July and four in August, were reported in four townships and villages in Shidian County.

Longling County and Longyang District have also reported dog bites. The Baoshan government has issued an urgent notice urging authorities to control the animals and cull stray dogs.
Rabies is a class 2 notifiable disease in China with cases rare in the past half-decade. In 2006, at least 16 people died of rabies in east China's Shandong Province after a rash of dog attacks. Rabies is spread to humans from another animal, commonly by a bite or a scratch. Globally most cases are the result of a dog bite