Sept 18, Colombo: Sri Lanka Health Ministry figures point out that the rabies deaths have risen despite the boost in canine vaccination.

The government vaccinated 818,162 dogs in 2005 and increased it to 971,442 in 2006. However, the rabies deaths also increased from 55 in 2005 to 73 in 2006.

The country’s canine population was about 2.5 million and the average entries to hospitals on bite injuries are 2,000 per day. Twenty-nine persons died in rabies in the first six months of this year. Last year 33 persons died in the same period.

The Ministry targets to reduce the country’s canine population to one million through responsible pet keeping.