BACOLOD City Councilor Bartolome Orola urged the City Veterinary Office (CVO) and the City Health Office (CHO) to strengthen their programs and measures on rabies prevention and eradication as part of the celebration of Rabies Awareness Month.
Orola, chairperson of committee on fisheries and aquatic resources, said Executive Order No.84 Series of 1999 provides that the month of March is declared as Rabies Awareness Month, rationalizing the control measures for the prevention and eradication of rabies.
“One of the common complaints of our constituents is the shortage of supplies of anti-rabies vaccine, thus there is a need to ensure that availability and adequate supply of animal anti-rabies vaccine in our public hospitals at all times and to make sure that all patients bitten by animals with rabies are properly medicates as early as possible,” he said.
He added that rabies awareness and prevention was further given importance by the passage of Republic Act 9482 which was signed into law on May 25, 2007, wherein a system for control of the spread, and eventual eradication of human and animal rabies was to be provided and the need for responsible pet ownership was to be established.
Rabies is a highly fatal disease caused by a lyssa virus, transmitted mainly through the bite of an infected animal and is characterized by muscle paralysis, hydrophobia and aerophobia, and other neurological manifestations.
Orola said prevention programs like free anti-rabies vaccination of dogs, giving priority to high risk depressed areas, and public awareness through information education and communication activities on rabies prevention and control and responsible pet ownership, must be implemented to ensure that the health and safety of the public is protected. (MAP