Wednesday, September 23, 2009

The Pre-Veterinary Medical Association (PVMA) of the University of North Carolina Wilmington is organizing a no-cost rabies clinic from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009. Pet owners may receive no-cost rabies vaccinations for dogs, cats and ferrets at the clinic, which will be held in Lot K at the southwest corner of Trask Coliseum. Owners are asked to bring proof of prior rabies vaccination, either a certificate or the county license fee renewal form.

The clinic is provided as a service to pet-owning students, faculty, staff and citizens in the surrounding community, and is offered in partnership with the New Hanover County Health Department, New Hanover County Animal Control Services and the UNCW Student Government Association. This is the third year that the PVMA has offered the on-campus clinic in conjunction with World Rabies Day to promote rabies prevention through the vaccination of pet animals. Hundreds of animals have been vaccinated each year through the volunteer efforts of this student organization.

"This year, we hope to vaccinate even more than the 400+ animals we vaccinated last year," said veterinarian Robert Weedon, faculty advisor to the PVMA and a volunteer at the clinic. "We're providing this service to the community to help prevent the spread of rabies and to educate pet owners about the threat of this deadly disease."

Although there are about 55,000 human deaths from rabies each year worldwide, mandatory pet vaccination has significantly reduced the incidence of animal and human rabies in the United States. World Rabies Day is a global rabies awareness campaign to spread the word about rabies prevention, spearheaded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the UK charity Alliance for Rabies Control. The UNCW PVMA clinic will be listed with other worldwide events on the World Rabies Day Web site, www.worldrabiesday.org.

The clinic is just one example of the beneficial partnership between the PVMA and community organizations. In addition to the community partners and students, local veterinarians will volunteer their time for the clinic. Donations toward the effort are encouraged and will be accepted the day of the clinic.

Media contact:
Dana Fischetti, manager of news and media relations, 910.962.7259 or fischettid@uncw.edu