300 to 400 Pinoys die of rabies annually

MANILA, Philippines - Rabies kills 300 to 400 Filipinos every year, with dog bites accounting for 84 percent of human rabies cases. But it was estimated that of the nine million dogs across the country, only one million are vaccinated against rabies.

To call on Filipinos to prevent rabies through mass immunization of pet dogs and responsible pet ownership, the country is now celebrating Rabies Awareness Month by virtue of Executive Order No. 84, series of 1999.

“Information and education on rabies prevention measures, first aid for dog bites and other relevant facts concerning rabies are critical for its eradication… The failure to eradicate rabies in the country greatly affects the public health and safety of the Filipino people,” the EO reads.

“It causes much agony and suffering to victims and their families before death,” it added.

The Department of Health (DOH) has collaborated with the Department of Agriculture (DA) in the dog vaccination campaign.

The DOH initially earmarked P69.5 million to augment DA’s budget of P40 million for dog vaccination. The financial assistance is expected to speed up the elimination of human rabies by 2016, a step toward the goal of having a rabies-free Philippines by 2020.

Earlier, DOH’s rabies program manager Raffy Deray reported that the number of deaths from rabies is on the decline. From 300 to 400 deaths, in 2013 the death toll was at 187, down from the 213 cases in 2012; 219 cases in 2011 and 257 cases in 2010.

However, the number of animal bites was observed to be rising for the past 10 years, with 522,420 in 2013 and 266,220 in 2010. Dogs account for 84 of the animal bites, followed by cats at 14 percent.

Deray said this could be attributed to improved surveillance and services that made bite victims come forward and seek treatment.

He noted that to effectively eliminate rabies, it is important for pet owners to be responsible by submitting the animals to vaccination and by making sure that they are taken care of properly.

Under Republic Act 9482 or the Anti-Rabies Act of 2007, pet owners are required to “maintain control over their dog and not allow it to roam the street or any public place without a leash.”