ILOILO City – Members of the Philippine Veterinary Medical Association (PVMA) and Humane Society International (HSI) spayed and neutered dogs and cats for free in this city from Feb. 4 to Feb. 8.
Spaying is sterilizing a female animal by removing the ovaries. Neutering, on the other hand, is castrating a male animal.
“Controlling the dog population is one of the government strategies to eliminate rabies,” said Dr. Joy Santos, PVMA president.
Rabies is a serious public health problem in the country. The Philippines is among the top 10 countries with the highest incidence of rabies in the world. Department of Health officials estimate that about 100,000 Filipinos are treated for dog bites and 200 to 300 die from rabies annually.
The rabies virus, which is present in the saliva of an infected animal, is passed to a human through a bite, or rarely, when the animal’s saliva gets in contact with a scratch or fresh break in the skin.
In the Philippines, dogs account for 98 percent of rabies infection while cats account for the remaining two percent, according to the Department of Health.
The free spaying and neutering were done in the barangays of Sto. Niño Sur and Calaparan in Arevalo district and Calumpang and San Juan in Molo district.
Private veterinary clinics charge between P3,000 to P15,000 for spaying or neutering, said Santos.
“We are doing this every year as part of our pre-congress,” she stressed.
PVMA is holding its 86th Scientific Conference and Annual Convention at the Iloilo Convention Center in Mandurriao district from Feb.20 to Feb. 22.
“Since PVMA-Western Visayas is our co-host for this year’s national congress, we decided to conduct the free spaying and neutering here,” said Santos.
PVMA also trained local veterinarians.
Iloilo city and province were among the Top 10 areas with high incidences of rabid animal bite cases, according to Santos./PN
