Professor Dr. Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn Mahidol, President of the Chulabhorn Research Institute Performs Royal Duties with the Chulabhorn Veterinary Volunteer Unit to Prevent and Control the Spread of Rabies in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region
With visionary leadership aimed at addressing health and hygiene issues involving the Thai people, Professor Dr. Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn Mahidol, President of the Chulabhorn Research Institute, acknowledges the serious impact of various critical diseases on the people’s quality of life and livelihood. Among these is rabies, a life-threatening zoonotic disease that requires vigilant monitoring, prevention, and control to ensure the safety of all citizens across the country. In response to this, Her Royal Highness graciously dispatched the Chulabhorn Veterinary Volunteer Unit to the Bangkok Metropolitan Region from July 15-18, 2024, stationing at Kasetsart University Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Triamudomsuksa Pattanakarn Nonthaburi School, and Pathumthani Vocational Education College. Her Royal Highness performed Royal Duties in the field, closely monitoring the operations and offering moral support to all personnel concerned and volunteers. With the strong commitment to eradicating rabies from Thailand, Her Royal Highness distributed rabies vaccines for further administration across target groups of animals in various areas to enhance the efficiency of the prevention and control of rabies across the Bangkok Metropolitan Region.
On this occasion, Her Royal Highness took part in veterinary anesthesia procedures collaborating with veterinarians from the Chulabhorn Veterinary Volunteer Unit. With Her competence and expertise in veterinary anesthesia, Her Royal Highness performed anesthesia on dogs to ensure they did not experience pain during sterilization and closely monitored vital signs to assess safety throughout the procedure. It is indeed Her Royal Highness’s intention to manage and control the population of people-owned and stray animals, as well as care for their health, in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region, ensuring that it becomes a safe and rabies-free area. The effort is particularly timely, given that the animal population has increased from the previous year, and the first case of rabies in a dog in 2024 was also reported in Bangkok.
Moreover, Her Royal Highness recognizes the importance of campaigns to promote the knowledge and understanding of rabies among village health volunteers and community representatives. By equipping them with knowledge on rabies prevention and proper management, these community leaders can address the issues of stray dogs in the areas, extend the project’s impact within their communities, as well as cultivate and promote responsible pet ownership. This, in turn, helps prevent pets from becoming a burden on society and reduces the risk of infection and death from rabies.
The activities carried out by the Chulabhorn Veterinary Volunteer Unit from July 15-18, 2024 are part of the concrete drive of the important strategic plan to monitor, prevent, and control rabies, under HRH Princess Chulabhorn’s project on “Disease-free Animals, Safe Humans from Rabies”. These efforts contribute to the good health of people and their pets, as well as stray animals in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region, motivating people from all sectors to realize the importance of and participate in the prevention of rabies at the local level, and paving the way for a rabies-free Thailand in a sustainable manner by 2030, in alignment with the target of the World Health Organization.
Public Relations,
Office of the President
July 18, 2024
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