Rabies outbreak declared

MANILA, Philippines - A rabies outbreak in six cities and two towns in Negros Occidental has been declared by the provincial government following one death and 15 canine positive cases.

Dr. Renante Decena, provincial veterinarian, yesterday said one person died of dog rabies in San Carlos City. Not included in the outbreak declaration is Bacolod, but it topped LGUs with cases of nine.

Other LGUs with rabies cases are Victorias City, four, Silay City, three, Bago City and Binalbagan, two each, Isabela, Himamaylan City and Sipaplay City, one each, he said.

Decena said under the Anti-Rabies Act of 2007, an “outbreak” could be declared in an LGU with at least one rabies case.

The Provincial Veterinary Office has released an advisory in all LGUs to raise awareness of the case, and urge residents to have their dogs vaccinated at barangay health centers where their paravets are assigned.

He added they are conducting strict quarantine of these LGUs, by vaccinating dogs within the one-kilometer radius of rabies cases. He said that a rabied dog can infect other dogs so it is advisable that they quarantine the area with rabies cases.

Decena said there are 214,041 dogs in Negros Occidental, while there are about 50,000 dogs in Bacolod. As of July, there are 3,773 cases of dog bites, 10 percent of these were from stray dogs.

In related developments, a 21-year-old gasoline attendant died last week three months after having been bitten by a stray dog in Barangay Sta. Isa­bel, Dinalupihan, Bataan.

Dr. Alberto Venturina, provincial veterinarian, said the first casualty arising from rabies serves as wake up for residents who ignore the government’s campaign against dog bites in the province.

He identified the fatality as Jonalyn Dimaano, 21, of Ba­rangay Sta. Isabel, who was bitten by a neighbor’s dog in their village sometime in May but she apparently just ignored it unaware of the fact that dogs had been inflicted by deadly virus.

Venturina said that sometime in May, Dimaano was cleaning the backyard when a dog passed by and without any provocation, the stray dog bit her on the right hand.

The provincial veterinarian learned that Dimaano belongs to a poor family and could not afford to have anti-rabies vaccine.

The girl at first felt numbness in her hands but she just presumed it was due to the effect in handling gasoline hose and other combustible materials in the gas station where she worked.

“But it was too late when she learned that the virus had already spread throughout her nervous system including the brain,” Venturina said.

Dimaano, however, was rushed to San Lazaro Hospital in Sta. Cruz, Manila but expired after several hours.