ILOILO – The Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) called on all mayors to prioritize the rabies vaccine program to achieve the target of vaccinating at least 70 percent of Iloilo’s dog population.
The provincial government’s goal is to make the entire Iloilo rabies-free by 2030, said Dr. Darel Tabuada, PVO head.
Rabies is a vaccine-preventable zoonotic disease (communicable from animals to humans) mostly transmitted through an animal bite.
Achieving a rabies-free status is good for tourism and the well-being of residents, said Tabuada.
“Ga-best effort kami pero may mga municipalities nga medyo wigit. May iban nga wala pa naka-start sang vaccination,” Tabuada told Panay News.
The provincial government targets to vaccinate at least 215,000 heads out of the total 314,494 dogs by the end of April.
The PVO started distributing rabies vaccines to municipalities in January and the vaccinations kicked off in February.
Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. allotted P8 million for 20,150 vials of vaccines distributed to 42 towns and Passi City this year.
The provincial government forged an agreement with local government units (LGUs). The former would purchase rabies vaccines while LGUs would use their funds to hire vaccinators, provide training, allowances, and other supplies and inoculate their dog population.
As of February, only 36,026 (11.52 percent) out of 314,494 dogs in the province were vaccinated: Cabatuan (6,326), Oton (3,998), Miag-ao (2,250), Guimbal (2,007), Lambunao (1,953), Dingle (1,867), Lemery (1,764), Janiuay (1,324), Pavia (1,317), Ajuy (1,310), Barotac Viejo (1,263), Dumangas (1,209), Balasan (1,166), Leon (1,035), San Miguel (1,123), Tubungan (921), Concepcion (842), Tigbauan (810), Maasin (720), Santa Barbara (607), San Enrique (465), Pototan (461), Sara (309), Carles (256), Alimodian (233), Dueñas (204), Zarraga (161), Barotac Nuevo (107), Batad (95), Estancia (81), Calinog (21), Anilao (15) and Banate (10).
Six LGUs have not yet started dog vaccination. These are San Joaquin, Igbaras, Leganes, Mina, Passi City, and San Dionisio.
Meanwhile, New Lucena, Bingawan and Badiangan are expected to roll out the vaccines soon.
According to Tabuada, other municipalities have not yet started the vaccination either due to lack of vaccinators or their personnel are overwhelmed with other functions, especially municipal agriculture office heads who hold other functions.
What happens if towns cannot achieve target
“Kung indi pa gid makaya in three months’ time kag makita nga wala gid sang movement sa banwa, kami sa province will augment sang amon staff. Mabulig kami sang vaccination para bisan paano indi puede nga may mabilin nga banwa nga indi maka-70 percent,” said Tabuada.
Below is the breakdown of the 314,494 total dog population in the province.
Passi City (15,905), Oton (15,440), Lambunao (14,970), Cabatuan (14,063), Janiuay (13,730), Sara (11,408), Miag-ao (10,414), Dumangas (10,216), Pototan (10,154), Leon (10,139), Barotac Viejo (9,670), Igbaras (9,226), Calinog (8,224), Carles (8,001), Ajuy (7,500), Dingle (7,498), Tigbauan (7,357), Barotac Nuevo (7,223), Santa Barbara (7,217), Concepcion (6,492), Banate (6,398), San Dionisio (6,310), Zarraga (6,072), Lemery (6,040), Leganes (6,035),San Miguel (5,596), Guimbal (5,769), Pavia (5,566), Alimodian (5,181), Bingawan (4,487), Maasin (4,789), Estancia (4,683), San Enrique (3,720), Mina (3,691), New Lucena (3,691), Balasan (3,560), Anilao (3,487), Dueñas (3,403), Badiangan (1,951), Tubungan (2,940), San Rafael (2,916), Batad (2,259) and San Joaquin (1,103)./PN
