BATANGAS CITY – The Provincial Health Office (PHO) and Provincial Veterinary Office here assured of adequate supply of rabies vaccine amid the high number of animal bite cases in the province.
The assurance was made after a thorough review and discussions at the Batangas Provincial Rabies Technical Committee Conference last April 4.
According to Batangas public information office chief Jenelyn A. Aguilera on Friday, speculations by some quarters that there is shortage of rabies vaccines in the province has been doused.
Aguilera said both the provincial health and veterinary offices are even intensifying their Rabies Control and Prevention Program while awaiting the Department of Health (DOH) National Guidelines for Vaccination after careful study and evaluation of the list of effective vaccines from various pharmaceutical firms.
“The Provincial Health Office here assured Batangueños of adequate supply of the rabies vaccine to address some 30-40 average bite cases per week in the province,” she said.
The health office also project that the supply of the rabies vaccine will normalize this year once the DOH issues the official list of prescribed rabies vaccines.
Jomel Mojica, the designated regional coordinator for Rabies of the DOH Region IV-A (Calabarzon) office, clarified that if there is any shortage of the rabies vaccine, it is not due to the health department’s insufficient funds but the insufficient production by licensed international pharmaceutical companies.
The regional rabies coordinator also pointed to DOH data which showed that Region IV-A (Calabarzon) region, comprising Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon, ranks third among the country’s regions with high animal bite cases in 2017.
In Batangas province alone, the Provincial Health Office has recorded some 31,173 animal bite cases throughout last year.
Dr. Josephine Gutierrez of the Batangas Rabies Technical Working Committee attributed the high recorded incidence of animal bites to the increasing awareness of the local folks on the need to immediately report animal bite cases, and that they are also intensifying their rabies awareness drive and information campaign across the province.
“Batid na ng publiko na di pwedeng balewalain ang mga insidente ng kagat, kalmot o anumang sugat na dahilan ng interaksyon sa mga alagang hayop (the public are already aware that they should not take for granted incidents of bites, scratches or injuries resulting from interaction with the animals),” Gutierrez said.
She said that animal bite cases are given immediate remedies, recorded and reported to designated Animal Bite Treatment Centers (ABTC) in hospitals and strategically located ABTCs across the province. (Saul Pa-a/PNA)
