TABUK CITY, Kalinga – The City Veterinary Services Office (CVSO) leads the culmination activity of this year’s Rabies Month celebration with the theme “Rabies-free na pusa’t aso, kaligtasan ng bawat Pilipino”.
With barangay officials and members of the Philippine National Police as the main participants, the event featured updates on dog bite cases in the city, a rabies situationer report by Dr. Samaitha Versoza, a presentation on animal welfare by Prudencio Atas of the Tabuk City Police Station, and information on biosecurity by Dr. Cherylle Andowag.
In order to support the city government’s anti-rabies campaign and to increase the implementation of the stray animal ordinance in the barangays, Dr. Carmen Wanas, the city veterinarian, spoke on the significance of encouraging responsible pet ownership as the best defense in eliminating dog bite cases in the community.
Gigi Mukay of the City Health Services Office (CHSO), who spoke at the event, revealed that there have been 625 documented occurrences of human animal bites in the first three months of the year, with children under the age of 15 accounting for 280 of those cases.
For the benefit of the participants, Mukay also provided descriptions of three different categories of bite cases: Category 1 (licking of undamaged skin), Category 2 (small scratches without blood), and Category 3 (bite with spontaneous bleeding near the head part).
The CVSO was able to vaccinate 8,940 dogs (44.3%) out of the 20,188 dogs that were present at this time thanks to the tenacity of its members and the community’s strong support in bringing their pets in for routine vaccinations.
Compared to the previous year, when there were verified rabid dogs, the CVSO has not yet registered any positive cases.
In his statement, City Mayor Darwin Estrañero emphasized the importance of giving the anti-rabies campaign first priority, along with responsible pet ownership, stricter enforcement of the stray animal ordinance, and public support for the city’s efforts to combat the dreadful rabies virus.