ILOILO CITY — Fourteen people died of rabies in Western Visayas in 2017, almost double of the number of fatalities recorded in the previous year.
The increase in the number of deaths due to rabies has prompted health authorities here to urge other local government units (LGUs) in the region to reactivate their municipal rabies council and enforce ordinances particularly on responsible pet ownership and impounding of stray dogs to minimize cases of dog bites.
Caroline Tumabotabo, regional rabies nurse coordinator of the Department of Health 6 (Western Visayas), said province of Negros Occidental recorded the highest number of deaths with eight; Capiz with three; and one each in the provinces of Aklan, Antique, and Iloilo. All cases were due to dog bites.
In 2016, there were nine human deaths cases recorded in the region.
Last year, the department recorded a total of 100,840 animal bites in the region. Most victims are individuals above 15 years old.
Tumabotabo noted that the number of animal bites in the region has been increasing over the past years.
“There have always been more or less 20 percent increase in the number of animal bite in our region every year,” she said.
Based on the DOH-6 data, there are 51, 537 dog bites recorded in the region in 2013. The increase was sustained with 58, 959 cases in 2014; 65,088 in 2015; and 83,166 in 2016.
Tumabotabo attributed the increase of bite cases to the rise in the number of dogs.
As of 2017, there are more than 490,000 dogs in the different parts of the region.
So far, the island province of Guimaras; Boracay in Malay, Aklan; and the island barangays in Concepcion, Iloilo namely Tambaliza, Talutoan, Makatunao and Butlog Daku are considered rabies-free.
Tumabotabo said these areas were able to activate their respective rabies brigade and strictly implemented their ordinances to control their dog population.
She urged the LGUs to strengthen their vaccination program by vaccinating more than 70 percent of their dog population.
Tumabotabo encouraged victims of dog bites to visit animal bite treatment centers in the region.
To date, there are 45 animal bite treatment centers in the Region 6: 17 in Iloilo province; Negros Occidental, 10; Antique and Capiz, six each; while the province of Aklan and the cities of Iloilo and Bacolod have two centers each. (PNA)
