TALISAY CITY, Negros Occidental -- Provincial Rabies Nurse Coordinator Rafael Marmolejo III said there were eight rabies deaths recorded in 2017, and three this year – one each in Hinoba-an, Sagay, and Himamaylan.

Marmolejo said three cases this year occurred in January to May this year.

He said rabies is 100 percent fatal, but it is also 100 percent preventable if treated with the needed vaccination.

The province has 17 Animal Bite Centers, and additional nine are in the pipeline.

Bacolod City has two centers, one at the City Health office and one at Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital.

For now, there is a scarcity of anti-rabies vaccines due to the stoppage of production by a manufacturer in India and this has not just affected the Philippines, but other countries as well.