THE Office of the City Veterinarian (OCV) has launched its anti-rabies campaign, dubbed Oplan RED (Rabies Elimination on Dogs), in a bid to further reduce the number of positive rabies cases in dogs in the city.
OCV chief Dr. Mario Arriola said on Tuesday they have already vaccinated 1,429 dogs and cats in the village of Tugbungan last January 29 to 31 and February 5 to 7.
Arriola said a similar activity is set on February 19 to 21 and February 26 to 28 in the village of San Jose Gusu, targetting to vaccinate 2,927 dogs and cats.
Arriola said that Oplan RED will be conducted in March in the villages of Pasonanca, Canelar and Santo Niño.
He appealed to all dog and cat owners to submit their pets for vaccination that will be done house-to-house.
He said the Department of Agriculture Regional Animal Diseases Diagnostic Laboratory reported that the positive rabies cases in dogs submitted for examination dipped to 41 percent in 2018 from 80 percent in 2017.
Meanwhile, he said that Zamboanga City has no recorded human rabies cases in 2016 and 2017 based on the confirmation by the Department of Health.