LAOAG CITY—In time for the rabies awareness month, the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVet) hosted a quiz bee at the Provincial Auditorium on Saturday.
Participated by more than 200 pupils from the various primary schools of the province, the One Health Quiz Show was one of the highlights of Ilocos Norte’s intensified drive towards promoting a rabies-free province.
Focusing on children who are highly vulnerable to dog bite, the quiz bee enables the children to become more aware of what to do in case they are bitten by a dog and to further encourage responsible dog ownership.
Running for for six years now, Valenzuela said the activity is a joint undertaking of the PVet in cooperation with the Provincial Health Office and the Department of Education.
Pupils of the Shamrock Elementary School was the overall champion with a take home prize of PHP7,000 followed by Buttong Elementary School with PHP4,900 cash reward and A. P. Santos Elementary School with PHP3,500 –all from Laoag City. All the top three winners were awarded with certificates of recognition and medals.
As of the moment, the province of Ilocos Norte is eyeing for its official declaration as one of the zero rabies communities in the country.
With the cooperation of local communities and other stakeholders from the 21 towns and two cities of the province, Valenzuela hopes Ilocos Norte will soon be declared as rabies free province.
Based on record of the National Rabies Prevention and Control program, there are about 300 to 600 Filipinos who die of rabies every year.
In Ilocos Norte, the last recorded human death due to rabies was in 2012. (Leilanie Adriano/PNA)
