ILOILO City – Eight Western Visayans have died due to rabies since January this year, data from the Department of Health (DOH) showed.
Four of the fatalities were below 15 years old, according to DOH Region 6 rabies program coordinator Ame Liz Mardoquio.
All the eight who died were bitten by rabid dogs but people should know that not only dogs transmit rabies, stressed Mardoquio.
Cats, too, transmit rabies, she said.
Of the eight fatalities, four were in Negros Occidental. The four others were in Iloilo, Antique and Capiz provinces, and Iloilo City, said Mardoquio.
In 2017, DOH-6 recorded 14 rabies-related deaths in the region.
Since January DOH-6 has monitored 51,000 animal bite cases, mostly involving dogs and cats. Iloilo province had the most number of animal bite cases at 17,051.
Mardoquio stressed the need for a wider information dissemination on the dangers of rabies and how people could protect themselves from it.
Even a scratch from a rabid dog or cat could already transmit rabies, she said.
The wise thing to do if one has been bitten or scratched by an animal is to see a doctor, said Mardoquio.
Local government units have a crucial role in curbing rabies cases, she stressed, through widespread information dissemination and the enforcement of policies that protect people from rabies.
“Dapat wala stray dogs. Kinahanglan pabakunahan ang nga ido,” said Mardoquio.
Responsible pet ownership is key, she stressed.
This Sept. 28 DOH-6 will be marking World Rabies Day. The theme is “Rabies: Share the Message, Save a Life.”
The rabies virus primarily affects the central nervous system. The early symptoms of rabies in people are similar to those of many other infection – fever, headache, and general weakness or discomfort.
As the disease progresses, more specific symptoms appear and may include insomnia, anxiety, confusion, slight or partial paralysis, excitation, hallucinations, agitation, salivation, difficulty in swallowing, and hydrophobia (fear of water).
Among Filipinos, dogs account for 98 percent of rabies infection, cats account for the remaining two percent, according to DOH.
An infected dog can transmit the rabies virus even before it becomes ill, but 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
