Panaji, June 23 (IANS) Goa has not reported a single rabies case in the last three years, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Wednesday, making Goa the first rabies-free state in the country.

"We have now achieved 5,40,593 vaccinations against the rabies in dogs and educated nearly a lakh people in dog bite prevention across Goa as well as set up 24-hours rabies surveillance involving an emergency hotline and rapid response team for dog bite victims," the Chief Minister told reporters after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

"We are happy to say that in the last three years, we have not had a single case of rabies in Goa," Sawant said.

The task of rabies control has been carried out by Mission Rabies project, which is being run through a central government grant.

"The Mission Rabies organization is doing a lot of work with all the political leaders, panchayats and because of awareness created, we were able to achieve this target," Sawant added.

--IANS maya/bg