BACOLOD City – The City Health Office (CHO) expects an increased number of animal bite patients this summer.
CHO records showed that as of April, there were already 842 animal bite patients in Bacolod.
Nurse Gloria Parreño, CHO’s rabies coordinator, said the animal bite patients are commonly pet owners.
Through animal bites, rabies – a highly fatal viral disease – can be transmitted.
Rabies primarily affects warm-blooded animals other than man, notably dogs, cats, rats, and bats.
Parreño added that weather conditions affect how these animals behave.
There is a shortage of anti-rabies vaccine in Bacolod, that is why Parreño said they can only accommodate a few patients.
She added that the CHO is prioritizing animal bites patients who are at “high risk” of being infected with rabies, or those bitten by stray dogs.
Out of the 170 vials that the Department of Health sent the CHO last month, only 40 are left, said Parreño.
She added the CHO already requested additional anti-rabies vaccines from a supplier, Sanofi, but no delivery was made yet.
Sanofi is one of the two companies that supply anti-rabies vaccine to the Philippines. The other one is the GlaxoSmithKline.
GlaxoSmithKline had stopped its delivery after the Chinese government discovered bacterial residue in its products on March last year.
Sanofi had continued sending its anti-rabies vaccine to the country but it was not enough.
Meanwhile, there are 10 villages in Bacolod with the most number of animal bite patients. They are barangays Taculing with 67, Handumanan and Mansilingan with 60 each, Estefania with 57, Tangub with 50, Villamonte with 49, Singcang-Airport with 45, Alijis, 43, Mandalagan, 42, and Granada, 38./PN
