BAGUIO CITY – Pet owners in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) are highly encouraged to have their pets regularly vaccinated every year. This was after the Department of Agriculture (DA)-CAR’s Regional Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (RADDL) confirmed a total of four rabies-positive cases in the region within January this year.
RADDL Head Dr. Ofelia Ducayag said that the laboratory has received eight samples for the month of January, four or 50% of which turned out to be positive for rabies. The rabies-positive samples came from Lagangilang in Abra (1) and Bontoc (2) and Sabangan (1) in Mountain Province.
“Rabies is a deadly disease. It is not only contracted from dogs but also from infected animals like cats and other mammals. The spread of rabies can only be controlled through responsible pet ownership and one way of doing so is subjecting our pets to regular vaccination every year,” Dr. Ducayag emphasized. “Vaccination is the only way to control diseases”.
According to the World Health Organization, rabies is a vaccine-preventable viral disease that occurs in more than 150 countries and territories worldwide, particularly in Asia and Africa. Dogs remain to be the main source of human rabies deaths which contribute to up to 99% of transmissions to humans.
The DA-CAR is continuously coordinating with the concerned local governments for immediate disease investigation to study the cases and see whether the spread is still going on. The local governments are further encouraged to conduct rabies vaccination and more public advisories as a means to curb the spread of rabies. Through its RADDL in BABRC, Dontogan and the Livestock Program in Guisad, Baguio City, the DA-CAR provides free anti-rabies vaccination. Pet owners in the provinces may also inquire in the closest government office or private veterinary clinics in their area for anti-rabies vaccination services.
Moreover, the communities are reminded to be vigilant of their surroundings, especially with the presence of stray dogs as well as to report dogs that exhibit unnatural behaviors to the authorities.
Last year, the DA-CAR recorded a total of 26 rabies-positive cases from submitted samples region-wide, mainly from the province of Abra, followed by Mountain Province.
Under the enacted Republic Act 9482 or the “Anti Rabies Act 2007” known as an Act providing for the Control and Elimination of Human and Animal Rabies, it stipulates responsible pet ownership and immediate actions in cases of dog biting incidents, Specifically under Section 5 of RA 9484, the pet owners shall Have their dog regularly vaccinated against rabies and maintain a registration card which shall contain all vaccinations conducted on their dog, for accurate record purposes; Submit their dogs for mandatory registration; Maintain control over their dog and not allow it to roam the streets or any public place without a leash; Be a responsible owner by providing their dog with proper grooming, adequate food and clean shelter; Within 24 hours, report immediately any dog biting incident to the concerned officials for investigation or for any appropriate action and place such dog under observation by a government or private veterinarian, and Assist the dog bite victim immediately and shoulder the medical expenses incurred and other incidental expenses relative to the victim’s injuries.
By JBAgrifino
