KALIBO, Aklan – Owners or dogs and cats in Aklan province are being urged to have their pets vaccinated.
The Provincial Health Office is stepping up its campaign against rabies infections.
Yesterday, Sept. 28, was World Rabies Day, a global day of awareness and advocacy about rabies prevention. The theme was “Rabies: Facts not Fear”.
Rabies is considered a neglected tropical disease infecting mostly poor and vulnerable populations whose deaths are rarely reported.
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 Provincial Health Officer Dr. Cornelio Cuachon Jr., rabies is a vaccine-preventable disease, and there are animal bite treatment centers in several rural health units – Banga, Nabas, Malay, and New Washington.
PHO-Aklan also offer free human anti-rabies vaccines, said Cuachon.
There are also private animal bite centers in Aklan, at the provincial hospital and in the government hospitals in Altavas and Ibajay.
Last year, Aklan recorded 7,103 animal rabies cases. Of this number, 64.3 percent were by dogs and 35 percent by cats.
Children below 15 years old comprised 46 percent (3,259) of the victims, while children aged above 15 years old, about 3,844, were exposed to animal bites.
Aklan recorded two rabies-related deaths last year. There were four so far this year between January and Sept. 15./PN
