IT’S 2019 but rabies remains a serious public health threat in the Philippines and it is a sad reality.
What is worse is that majority of the affected victims of rabies are children. According to World Health Organization (WHO), at least 1/3 of deaths due to human rabies are among children less than 15 years.
In 2017, the Department of Health bared 58, 581 animal bites from dogs and cats were recorded in the country. Although the number of deaths caused by rabies dropped by 30 percent in 2017 as compared to 2016, there is still a long way to go to achieve the goal of “rabies-free” country in 2020.
In Davao region, DOH - Regional Rabies Prevention and Control Program said there are nine deaths in 2017, lower as compared to 2016 with 13. For a region to be considered rabies-free if it has no cases recorded for two consecutive years.
The decline in numbers is a good sign as it shows the improving awareness of the community on the dangers of rabies.
Various efforts are currently being initiated and steps are being taken by authorities to realize this ambitious goal which is due next year.
Based on Davao City Veterinarian’s Office (CVO) data, there are approximately 150,000 cats and dogs in the city and 117,106 of which are vaccinated as of October 2018.
CVO, in previous years, conducted house-to-house free vaccination; free spay and neuter to cats and dogs in the city to reduce the population of stray pets which may contribute to the spread of rabies; and distributed over 63,000 brochures to help spread awareness and facts about rabies to the public – all these were part of the intensified anti-rabies campaign.
But as the goal seems to be within reach, problem on funding arises.
CVO focal person for Rabies and Control program coordinator and chief of Animal Disease Prevention and Control Section Doctor Gay Pallar said the 2019 budget allocation - P1,075,909 - for Anti-Rabies campaign is insufficient.
“We have budget for anti-rabies vaccines but it is not sufficient. We needed support from the Department of Agriculture - Bureau of Animal Industry (DA-BAI)," Pallar said.
One anti-rabies vaccine vial has 10 milliliter (ml) dosage and each cat or dog need 1 ml dosage to be rabies-free.
It is only a year to go before the self-imposed deadline of the Philippines to become rabies-free in 2020. We badly need that budget for anti-rabies vaccines and we hope that the city will rethink its budget allocation for this campaign. We also call on other agencies to provide the needed help asked by our friends in the Rabies and Control centers. But more importantly, we urge pet owners to be responsible and have their pets injected with anti-rabies vaccine.
Rabies should not be taken for granted.