BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The Provincial Health Office (PHO) of Negros Occidental reported one confirmed and nine suspected rabies fatalities as of Monday, Oct. 3.
Rafael Marmolejo III, PHO’s Provincial Nurse Coordinator, said the latest suspected rabies fatality was a six-year-old child from San Carlos City.
According to Marmolejo, the nine deaths were tagged as suspected because they showed symptoms such as hydrophobia, or fear of water.
A rabies case or death can only be tagged as confirmed if the patient’s laboratory test results were verified by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), Marmolejo pointed out.
He added that most of the fatalities failed to seek immediate treatment at their local animal bite center.
He recalled one case – a male resident of Manapla town bitten by a dog opted to be treated by means of “tandok” or traditional medicine instead of going to the local health center.
When the man finally went to the local health center after the symptoms worsened, Marmolejo said, it was already too late. The patient passed away a few days later.
Seven of the other fatalities were also noted to have used “tandok” to treat their animal bites.
He also noted that the nine suspected and one confirmed rabies deaths were all bitten by dogs.
According to Marmolejo, the proper treatment for an animal bite is to wash the wound using running water and soap for 10 to 15 minutes.
After washing the wound, apply betadine and immediately go to the nearest animal bite center or health center to receive the rabies vaccine.
“Do not use cream or anything [else], indi pag pisgaon ang pilas, kag indi pagbutangan ahos,” Marmolejo said.
He further noted that the fatalities were mostly from upland areas of the province, although he couldn’t say that the patients were ignorant, pointing out the example of the Manapla case.
“Indi man ta ka hambal sina [ignorance], parehos sa aton nga Manapla case nga kabalo gid siya nga nakagtan siya, ginhambalan siya sang wife niya nga magkadto sa animal bite center, but still the patient refused,” Marmolejo explained.
At present, Negros Occidental has a total of 21 Animal Bite Treatment Centers, of which 16 are certified while five are still in the process of getting certified.
Marmolejo also noted that they currently do not have any problems with rabies vaccines, as they constantly receive supplies from the Department of Health, the provincial government, and the local government units./PN
