ប្រែទៅជាភាសាខ្មែរFAQ
The Project
I live in Phnom Penh, when are you coming to my house?
Our schedule page will let you know where our teams will be vaccinating. This is accurate down to commune level, but timings may alter slightly depending on how quickly our teams progress through their working zones. Please give us flexibility of 1 day before or after the scheduled date.
Is there a cost for the rabies vaccination?
We will NEVER charge you for a rabies vaccination during our vaccination campaigns. The vaccine is 100% free. If you think you have been wrongly charged for one of our vaccines, please get in contact on our hotline number +855 10804176 or on our Facebook: Mission Rabies Cambodia
Do you vaccinate humans as well?
The vaccine we use is only for use in animals. Comprehensive rabies vaccination of the reservoir dog population has been proven to eliminate rabies and save human lives.
If you want to discuss human rabies vaccination, we suggest getting in contact with your provincial health department or your local Institut Pasteur du Cambodge for more information.
I have checked the schedule and I won't be at home when the teams will be vaccinating in my village, what should I do?
Please make arrangements with other members of your family or neighbours to allow your dog to be vaccinated. Where possible, keep your dog confined to your compound, yard or on a lead for the day before and day after our teams are scheduled to be in your area.
Wow, that sounds like a lot of dogs to vaccinate, how do you make sure you get 70% of the population?
Smart phone technology! Phnom Penh has been divided into 771 working zones which our teams will be working systematically through over the 10 day campaign. Once a team has reported their working region as complete, we will send in our post-vaccination surveyors to estimate the percentage of the population which is vaccinated. If that number comes back as above 70%, we tick that working region off as complete until next year. This means that we do not rely on costly or time consuming methods of individual dog identification.
How will I recognise your vaccination teams?
All vaccination team members will have a yellow t-shirt and staff identity badge.
Rabies Vaccination
I want my dog vaccinated against rabies, what do I need to do?
Please check the schedule page to see when our teams will be in your area. Then make sure either you, a family member or a neighbour is available to give permission to our teams to vaccinate your dog. If your dogs is normally free-roaming, please try to confine in a compound, yard or on a chain for the day we are scheduled to visit your area.
I can't handle my dog, will you be able to vaccinate them?
Our vaccination teams rely on owners holding their own animals for vaccination. Each team has 1 net to help humanely restrain dogs that are difficult to handle, however, they need to be able to get close to your dog to use it.
If your dog isn't used to being handled, please take this opportunity in the lead up to the vaccination campaign to get your dog used to human company more. Some treats and gentle pats are a nice start, working your way up to holding for a few seconds and walking on a lead.
My dog is ill or injured, can you still vaccinate them?
Our experienced vaccination team members will be able to discuss this with you on a case-by-case basis. But as a general guideline, a dog with a physical injury which is being treated (e.g. a dog fight wound, lameness or transmissible venereal tumour (TVT)) can still be vaccinated. However, a dog which is ill with for example a severe skin condition, who has been vomiting, had diarrhoea or is very thin is not a good candidate for vaccination.
If your dog is injured or ill, we recommend taking them to your local veterinary practice for treatment.
My dog is already vaccinated against rabies, do I need to vaccinate them again?
Rabies vaccination needs to be repeated once every year to ensure that herd immunity is maintained in the whole dog population in your area. As a general rule, if your dog has been vaccinated within 6 months of our vaccination campaign, it will not need a booster. Any time longer than that, our teams will be happy to vaccinate your dog again for free.
I have a puppy under 12 weeks old, can you still vaccinate them?
We follow the information in the data sheet for the vaccine we use, Nobivac Rabies (MSD Animal Health) which states that the recommended primary vaccination age is 3 months however "Primary vaccination can be administered at an earlier age, but then a repeat vaccination must be given at the age of 3 or 6 months depending on the species"
I have a pregnant or lactating dog, can you still vaccinate her?
The manufacturer of the rabies vaccine reports that the vaccine can be used in pregnant or lactating animals.
How do I know if a dog in my neighbourhood has been vaccinated?
Our teams are using animal-friendly paint to mark vaccinate dogs - this campaign we will be using green markers. This will last for a few days and act as an indicator for our post-vaccination survey teams. All owners of dogs will also receive a vaccination slip.
If you are only using paint to mark the dogs, how will you know if they are vaccinated next year?
We need to vaccinate dogs against rabies every year, including those that have been vaccinated in previous campaigns. Smart phone technology is used to map out the whole of the vaccination area. Teams are directed systematically from region to regions, ensuring efficient coverage of target regions. After a team has reported that their region is complete, post-vaccination survey teams are sent into the region to estimate whether over 70% of the population has been vaccinated. If over 70% has been achieved, this region will be ticked off and teams will move to the next region.
With such a high annual dog turn over of the dog population, our method relies on looking at dogs as a "herd" rather than individuals. As such, this technology-based method is the more efficient to protect communities form rabies.
I want my dog vaccinated against another disease (e.g. Parvovirus or Distemper) what do I need to do?
This vaccination campaign is only delivering rabies vaccinations. Please contact your local government animal health department or local charity for other vaccinations for your dog.
A vaccination team came to my area, but I wasn't at home, how can I get my dog vaccinated?
Please take your dog to one of our vaccination hubs in Phnom Penh (Prek Leap National Institut of Agriculture, Royal University of Agriculture, The Provincial Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries) between 7am - 6pm, from 22nd May to 2nd June.
If the vaccination campaign has ended, you can still contact these charities for canine rabies vaccination.
- Animal Rescue Cambodia
- Phnom Penh Animal Welfare Society
Or contact your local animal health officer.
A vaccination team came to my home but I didn't let them vaccinate my dog. I have changed my mind, how can I get my dog vaccinated against rabies?
Please take your dog to one of our vaccination hubs in Phnom Penh (Prek Leap National Institut of Agriculture, Royal University of Agriculture, The Provincial Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries) between 7am - 6pm, from 22nd May to 2nd June.
If the vaccination campaign has ended, you can still contact these charities for canine rabies vaccination.
- Animal Rescue Cambodia
- Phnom Penh Animal Welfare Society
Or contact your local animal health officer.
I would like my dog to be sterilised, is this something you can do?
So we can protect as many communities in Phnom Penh as possible during our campaign, we are focusing only on rabies vaccination.
However, there are some amazing charities and veterinary practices in Phnom Penh who provide sterilisation services:
- Animal Rescue Cambodia
- Phnom Penh Animal Welfare Society
- VSL Veterinary Clinic
- Animal Mama Veterinary clinic
Rabies
I am worried that a dog in my village has rabies, what should I do?
Please get into contact with your local animal health officer or call 115 to discuss the case with a trained operator. If the dog bites anyone, make sure they get appropriate post-bite treatment described below.
I was bitten by a dog, what should I do?
Firstly wash the wound with soap or iodine and fresh running water for 15 minutes. DO NOT cover the wound.
Then visit your local health centre for post-exposure rabies vaccinations.
My dog was bitten by a dog which I think has rabies, what should I do?
Contact your local animal health officer (or our rabies hotline) and ensure that your dog receives a booster rabies vaccine. Monitor your dog closely for the next 60 days and if they start showing any signs of rabies, contact your local animal health officer.
I am a teacher and want to educate my students about rabies, can you help me with this?
Education is incredibly important to save people's lives. Please get in touch with our education manager by email to discuss how we can help you spread the message about rabies prevention.
We also have a lot of educational materials, you can find some of these on our Rabies Resources page.
Working with us
I am an animal charity and am interested in helping conduct our own rabies vaccination drive, can you help with this?
Please get in touch with our team by email ([email protected]) to discuss your project.
I live in Phnom Penh and want to help with this project, how can I do this?
Please get in contact with our project coordinator, Dr Amy on our enquiries inbox ([email protected]) to discuss how we could use your skills for this project.
I live outside of Phnom Penh and want to help with this project, how can I do this?
We have a package for international volunteers including accommodation, food and project work expenses, please visit our website volunteering page for more information. If you have any further questions, please contact our volunteer coordinator, Helena on our enquiry inbox ([email protected]).
The Future
This project is great for 2023, but what about the future?
We hope that the success of this scaled-up project will create a blueprint for the rest of Cambodia. Watch this space.
In association with:
