Sixty one people in central China's Hunan Province have died from rabies in first two months of the year, leading the vice governor to call for a cull of dogs in the province.

Gan Lin, vice governor of Hunan, said the government has to kill unvaccinated dogs to keep the horrible disease away from people.

Rabies killed 443 people in Hunan in 2006, which last year was the country's most deadly infectious disease. Since 1996, rabies has killed 2,719 people in Hunan, said Gan.

The increasing number of pet dogs and low vaccination rates are blamed for the rabies epidemic in the province, said Gan, without providing details on the number of pets that have caused the spread of the disease.

Experts from the provincial center of disease prevention warn that rabid dogs and other animals including bats can spread the deadly disease to humans through a bite or scratch that breaks the skin.

The disease can remain latent for days, months and even years. The disease is always fatal once symptoms appear.

People who are bitten can be effectively treated prior to the onset of symptoms. Like dogs, people can also be vaccinated against the disease.

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