BACOLOD City – The Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) of Negros Occidental confirmed that its Rabies Laboratory has detected a total of 17 canine-positive rabies cases among dogs in the province, including its capital city.
Separate data from the Provincial Health Office (PHO) show five suspected human rabies deaths were recorded last year.
Two deaths were from La Castellana town, and one each from Isabela, Calatrava, and Toboso towns, the PHO added.
PVO head Dr. Placeda Lemana is expecting rabies cases in the province to increase this year due to the El Niño phenomenon.
Meanwhile, the PVO had vaccinated a total of 123,000 dogs in the province as of Dec. 31, 2023 – only 45 percent of the total dog population of more than 200,000.
Lemana said there had been a drop in vaccination rate as the province has not received its supply of rabies vaccines from the Department of Agriculture.
The PVO is currently lobbying for the purchase of rabies vaccines. They target to vaccinate at least 70 percent of the total dog population in Negros Occidental.
Lemana added they are encouraging the local government units to purchase their own supply of rabies vaccines.
Rabies is a highly fatal viral disease. 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.
According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the first symptoms of rabies following a bite from a rabid animal, and if left untreated, include weakness or discomfort, fever, or headache.
There also may be discomfort, prickling, or an itching sensation at the site of the bite. These symptoms may last for days.
Symptoms then progress to cerebral dysfunction, anxiety, confusion, agitation, hydrophobia, and ultimately death.
Treatment for rabies include postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) consists of a dose of human rabies immune globulin (HRIG) and rabies vaccine given on the day of the rabies exposure, and then a dose of vaccine given again on days 3, 7, and 14.
For people who have never been vaccinated against rabies previously, PEP should always include administration of both HRIG and rabies vaccine.
The combination of HRIG and vaccine is recommended for both bite and non-bite exposures, regardless of the interval between exposure and initiation of treatment. (Watchmen Daily Journal)/PN
