Professor Dr. Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn Mahidol Performed Royal Duties with the Chulabhorn Veterinary Volunteer Unit in Mission to Ensure Sustainable Rabies-Free Areas in Loei and Udon Thani Provinces
With a strong commitment to ensuring that Thai people enjoy good health and a standard quality of life, Professor Dr. Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn Mahidol recognizes that a factor that poses health challenges for the people is zoonotic diseases. Therefore, Her Royal Highness has made tireless efforts to apply the advanced medical and veterinary technologies from around the world to the research and development of treatments and care for human and animal health in Thailand. Her Royal Highness has also used knowledge and experience drawn from acquiring Her Doctorate of Philosophy Degree in Bioveterinary Science for the development of veterinary work to control, prevent, and build immunity to ensure that animals are healthy and safe from serious diseases which are life-threatening to humans and animals.
From October 14-18, 2023, Her Royal Highness performed veterinary work with the Chulabhorn Veterinary Volunteer Unit in the northeast, stationing at Loeianukulwittaya School in Loei Province and at Kesorn Silakhun Temple (Wat Pa Ban Tat) in Udon Thani Province. Under Her Royal Highness’s directives, veterinarians from the Chulabhorn Veterinary Volunteer Unit collaborated with their counterparts from the Provincial Livestock Offices in the areas, offering treatment, sterilization, and rabies vaccination services for stray and people-owned animals. This initiative responds to Her Royal Highness’s vision focusing on the establishment of rabies-free zones in the local areas, systematic pet management, engaging the public in responsible pet care, as well as prevention of rabies along the border. Loei Province, in particular, is one of the areas with a large population of stray dogs and cats, especially along the border with neighboring countries, making it difficult to control contagious diseases. This visit marked Her Royal Highness’s third trip to Kesorn Silakhun Temple (Wat Pa Ban Tat) in Udon Thani Province to monitor progress in controlling the stray dog and cat population. In the past, a large number of stray dogs inhabited in the Temple compound. Tragically, a rabies-infected dog once bit a child, leading to the child’s death and causing troubles to the monks and the people who came to the Temple for merit-making. This incident prompted Her Royal Highness to make an urgent decision to provide assistance and address the issue of the stray animal population, as well as prevention of rabies in the surrounding areas.
Upon arrival, Her Royal Highness participated in veterinary work, collaborating with veterinarians from the Chulabhorn Veterinary Volunteer Unit to administer rabies vaccinations, perform veterinary anesthesia on dogs, and closely monitor vital signs to assess safety during sterilization and subsequent treatment. In one case, a dog found to be suffering from eyelid tumor was treated in a mobile surgical unit, with high safety standard and efficiency, equipped with advanced veterinary tools and equipment. This mobile surgical unit is designed to provide extensive veterinary services in remote areas.
On this occasion, Her Royal Highness distributed rabies vaccines to the Chiefs of Loei Provincial Livestock Office and Udon Thani Provincial Livestock Office, to be used for injections to build immunity in stray dogs and cats in the two Provinces. Pre-exposure rabies vaccination such as this is an alternative means to prevent the disease and strengthen local communities to rapidly become rabies-free.
Moreover, Her Royal Highness places great importance on providing concrete solutions to rabies problems. Her Royal Highness has initiated training programs on rabies management within communities to disseminate knowledge and understanding of the disease, methods of self-protection, as well as raise awareness of responsible animal care, without abandoning them to become social burden and public health issue.
All through Her Royal Highness’s visits, the teams of veterinarians from central and provincial administrations under Her Royal Highness’s leadership worked together under the banner of the Chulabhorn Veterinary Volunteer Unit to provide comprehensive treatment and rabies immunization. All personnel were dedicated to fulfilling Her Royal Highness’s intention, with determination and sacrifice for this important mission. Over the course of operations in Loei and Udon Thani Provinces, 854 dogs and cats were vaccinated against rabies and 653 were sterilized. These activities contribute to Her Royal Highness’s vital mission of driving the operation of HRH Princess Chulabhorn’s project on “Disease-free Animals, Safe Humans from Rabies” towards the goal of establishing sustainable rabies-free areas in Thailand.
Public Relations,
Office of the President
October 18, 2023
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