Angola Rabies Death Toll Climbs To 69 Children

Two out of every five children die before reaching the age of five, according to the United Nations.

The number of children killed from rabies in Luanda rose to 69 on Wednesday, up from 50 last month, prompting authorities to launch a new drive to round up hundreds of stray dogs in Angola's capital city.

The Health Ministry said health workers were rounding up hundreds of stray in Luanda to counter the deadly virus that is transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected animal.

Almost 1,000 dogs have already been collected since the rabies outbreak began in November. Those that test positive for rabies are killed, the others are released.

"This is a tragedy because despite all the efforts to control the rabies outbreak, things aren't getting any better," Luis Bernardino, the director of Luanda's biggest children's hospital, told Reuters.

Children aged between three and 10 have been the main victims as they cannot protect themselves from dogs. Bernardino said the children are usually from poor districts surrounding Luanda's urban core, where thousands of stray dogs roam.

Authorities in Luanda carried out a city-wide vaccination campaign last month in which 100,000 animals -- dogs, cats and monkeys -- were inoculated in a city that is home to more than one third of Angola's 16.5 million-strong population.

But this has failed to prevent the rabies death toll among children from climbing in a country that already has one of the worst infant mortality rates in the world.

Two out of every five children die before reaching the age of five, according to the United Nations.

Rabies kills over 50,000 people across the world each year.