ANTIQUE – This province recorded its first death due to a rabies-infected dog bite this year.
The victim was a 54-year-old male from San Jose de Buenavista town, said Health Education Information Officer Irene Duldoco of the Antique Provincial Health Office (APHO).
According to Duldoco, the victim’s pet dog licked the wound on the former’s foot on Sept. 21.
After three days, the victim felt symptoms of rabies such as difficulty in drinking water and speaking, and loss of appetite.
He was then brought to the Angel Salazar Memorial General Hospital for proper treatment, but he died three days later.
In 2022, Antique listed five rabies deaths.
Rabies is a vaccine-preventable zoonotic disease (communicable from animals to humans) mostly transmitted through an animal bite.
In case one is bitten, the injured area should be thoroughly washed with soap and clean water then apply betadine to stop the bleeding.
People should also go to animal bite centers for proper treatment instead of seeking the help of quack doctors.
Also, when bitten most especially by a dog, observe the dog for 10 days.
If the dog weakens, it most likely is rabid and the person bitten should waste no time getting a rabies vaccine.
But an infected dog can transmit the rabies virus even before it becomes ill. It will invariably manifest signs and symptoms of rabies including change in behavior such as unprovoked aggressiveness and excitability, paralysis, and hydrophobia within five days, and die within two weeks, after it gets infected./PN