Sigh of relief for Bomet residents as county govt curtails rabies outbreak
By Emmanuel Rono, December 11, 2025The Bomet County Government has initiated an urgent disease control campaign following confirmed rabies outbreaks in the region over the past two weeks.
County Executive Committee Member for Agriculture, Benard Cheruiyot, while speaking to journalists on Wednesday, December 10, 2025, said the county has recorded several confirmed cases during that period.
Cheruiyot confirmed that the county has activated the Bomet County Control of Stray Dogs Act 2023 to contain the spread of rabies.
Confirmed cases include an affected cow and two people in Longisa Ward, as well as additional cases in Ndaraweta Ward and Bomet town.
He said the county government has already begun vaccinations in the affected areas to prevent further spread.
“Over the previous two weeks, we have recorded a number of cases in various wards in this county, and we have activated the vaccinations guided by the Bomet County Control of Stray Dogs Act 2023,” Cheruiyot said.
He noted that veterinary officers have vaccinated a total of 46 dogs in the affected areas and will continue until all stray dogs are vaccinated.
“We have so far vaccinated 46 dogs in those wards, and we are aiming to reach all dogs in the region,” Cheruiyot said.
At least seven people are currently receiving post-exposure medication after contact with animals in the rural outbreaks.
A separate incident in Bomet town on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, resulted in one person being attacked by a suspected rabid dog. The victim was vaccinated and is in stable condition.
The CECM said dogs within the town will be vaccinated as soon as possible to ensure residents remain safe.
“We are acting swiftly through mass vaccination of stray dogs in Bomet town to ensure the business community is safe,” Cheruiyot stated.
He added, “We urge our residents to cooperate with veterinary teams and ensure their pets are vaccinated to protect both their families and their livestock.”
Cheruiyot emphasised that cross-border transmission remains a major challenge to the country’s control efforts.
He noted that inadequate vaccination programmes in neighbouring counties continually undermine Bomet’s progress by allowing diseases to be reintroduced through moving livestock.
“The effect of cross-border movement is that unvaccinated animals from neighbouring countries constantly re-infect our animals, making disease control a continuous and uphill challenge for us,” Cheruiyot said.