ILOILO CITY — The Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) has focused its anti-dog rabies vaccination program in the municipality of Lambunao, which has the highest number of rabid dogs in the province of Iloilo.
PVO head Silvino Teodosio on Tuesday stressed that the town is the “most high-risk” in terms of dog rabies. Of the 37 confirmed rabid dogs in the province in 2017, Lambunao had the highest with 12.
Teodosio said that in the first two months of the year, eight rabid dogs had been confirmed in the province. Lambunao remained on top with two confirmed rabid dogs and one each in the towns of Calinog, San Miguel, San Joaquin, Sta.Barbara, Pavia, and Leganes.
“We are focusing on this town so that once and for all, we would be able to eliminate or reduce the high incidence of rabies in Lambunao,” he said.
Teodosio said the town’s problem has already reached the attention of the Bureau of Animal Industry, which has deployed seven veterinarians to the province, each of whom has a quota to vaccinate 1,000 dogs to help augment the vaccination program of the local government units (LGU).
“These veterinarians from the bureau are currently focusing in Lambunao,” he said.
Based on the Vaccination Progress Report of Lambunao as of September 2017, only 1,657 dogs had been vaccinated, or only 18 percent of the 9,075 dog population.
Teodosio said that last Jan. 24, they have already delivered 5,000 vials of vaccine to different areas in the province for dog vaccination.
He said they have also prioritized Lambunao and have delivered all the 635 vials of vaccine they need.
While each LGU is urged to vaccinate at least 70 percent of their dog population, Lambunao needs to vaccinate 6,353 dogs this year.
Teodosio urged other LGUs to give attention to their dog vaccination to avoid cases of human rabies.
Iloilo province has 250,950 dogs. It is targeting to vaccinate 70 percent of the population, which is equivalent to 175,665 dogs. (Cindy Ferrer/PNA)
