By CYRUS M. GARDE
CADIZ City — A massive anti-rabies vaccination of dogs in Brgy. Tinampaan here started yesterday and will run through today, city veterinarian Dr. Josue Rabang said.
City health officials will conduct more massive vaccinations soon. They were coordinating with barangay social workers in identifying families with pet dogs.
Rabang said they have been conducting massive vaccinations of dogs for months now, covering 57 percent of the city’s dog population.
While the effect of the vaccine on dogs lasts for three years, there should be no room for complacency, he stressed.
On March 4, a woman from Brgy. Daga here died of rabies after a neighbor’s dog bit her right palm on January 9.
She was the first rabies casualty in Negros Occidental this year, Rabang said.
The victim’s family requested not to identify the woman in this report.
After she was bitten, the victim was injected with an anti-tetanus vaccine at a government emergency clinic here and was advised to seek further help.
On March 2, she went back to the clinic complaining of numbness. She died two days later.
Rabang appealed to pet owners in this city to, if possible, bring their pets to his office to be vaccinated.
Negros Occidental has three rabies casualties so far this year. The other two were from Sagay City: boys aged six and nine.
All victims had symptoms of rabies, including hydrophobia, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Ernell Tumimbang had said./PN
