A 53-YEAR-OLD resident of Cadiz City died due to rabies, the first case in Negros Occidental this year recorded by the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO).
Provincial Veterinarian Renante Decena said Thursday that Ronnie Borre was bitten by a dog in Sagay City last April.
Decena said the victim, who was bitten on his finger, was brought to a hospital in Sagay City on May 2, and was transferred to Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital in Bacolod City, where he died a day after.
The Department of Health-Western Visayas has confirmed that the death of the patient was due to rabies.
PVO found out that the dog has been subjected to anti-rabies vaccination last year. It died a week after biting Borre.
“It is possible that there was a failure of vaccination in the area where the victim was bitten thus, PVO has already conducted revaccination there,” Decena said.
Last year, the PVO recorded three cases of confirmed deaths due to rabies – one each in Calatrava town, Sipalay City, and Sagay City. The cases were fewer than the four recorded in 2014 – two victims from Sagay City, and one each from the cities of Cadiz and San Carlos.
In terms of annual target vaccination, Decena had earlier told Sun.Star Bacolod that PVO is eyeing the vaccination of 70 percent of the total dog population in the province for 2016.
PVO records further showed that in 2015, it had vaccinated a total of 163,040 dogs, covering 70.16 percent of the 232,395 total dog population in Negros Occidental.
Impounding teams of various LGUs were able to catch 2,777 stray dogs last year. Of the number, only 237 were redeemed by their owners, 2,262 were terminated, and 1,013 were castrated.