World Rabies Day observance to focus on handling of dogs

CEBU, Philippines - As there is the big need to educate dog owners more on how to handle their pets, the observance of the World Rabies Day will be anchored more on dog handling.

Dr. Alice Utlang, city veterinarian, in yesterday’s press conference said that owners of pet dogs are invited on Monday to free dog trainings, to avail of vitamins and other food supplements for their pets and treatment products like anti-lice, as well as access to information on animal birth control.

Utlang said that for this year, only eight rabies cases were recorded from January to August. She said that the number is way below last year’s figure with 20 cases covering the same period.

Only one of these eight rabies cases was caused by a stray dog; the rest are house dogs which according to Utlang depicts the need for dog owners to be educated more on handling their pets.

“There are many people who buy dogs and who just put them in cages and don’t have them vaccinated,” Utlang said.

The free trainings will be conducted by the Cebu Rottweilers Club which is also conducting the same every Saturday at Paseo Arcenas in Banawa.

The number of cases of rabies in the Philippines - which currently ranks fourth worldwide in incidence of the disease - is increasing, despite government promises to rid the country of the problem by 2020.

In 1998, 362 Filipinos died of rabies, compared with 321 in 1997 and 337 in 1996. About 10,000 dogs are believed to be infected with the disease each year.

According to the Department of Health, the underlying problem is that public awareness of the disease remains poor and that dog owners are not taking up the offer of subsidized rabies immunizations. — Ferliza C. Contratista/MEEV (THE FREEMAN)