270 killed by rabies last year; 113,379 bites recorded — DOH

The Department of Health (DOH) urged the public yesterday to have their dogs vaccinated against rabies, which killed 270 people last year.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said that Philippines was in the top five on a World Health Organization list of high rabies incidence, both in humans and animals in 2002.

Duque noted that such image could improve if the country can curb rabies cases through dog vaccination.

Records of the DOH’s National Rabies Prevention and Control Program (NCRPCP) showed there were 113,379 animal bites recorded in 2005.

Of the 270 deaths, 76 percent were caused by dogs; 23 percent by cats and the remaining one percent was shared by animals like monkey and pigs.

Rabies is a disease of animals caused by a virus that can be transmitted to humans. The virus attacks the body’s central nervous system.

It is characterized by fever, fear of water, nausea and vomiting, headache, pain or numbness at bite site, hyperactivity, disorientation, hallucination, seizures and paralysis, which could become fatal if severe.

Yesterday, the DOH led the observation of the "Rabies Awareness Month" through a celebration held at the Quezon City Memorial Circle.

Duque warned that rabies cases usually increase during summer when children are mostly at play, exposing them to animals.

Records showed that 69 percent, or 64,450, of the animal bite cases involved children below 15 years old. Most of the cases came from Western Visayas, followed by Central Luzon, Bicol, Central Visayas and Calabarzon.

The health chief asked the public not to ignore bites because it could cause death if the animal happens to be rabid.

"We are also advising those who have been bitten by animals not to use ‘tandoks’ for treatment but, instead, go to the nearest animal bite center so that the wound can be properly taken care of and managed," Duque added.

"Tandok" is a traditional method of treating animal bites with the use of a deer horn that is placed over the wound.

It is believed that the horn can suck out the rabies virus.

As part of the anti-rabies program, the DOH has trained doctors and nurses for 252 animal bite centers nationwide.

Rabies has also been integrated in the curriculum of students in pilot regions of Ilocos, Bicol, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Central Mindanao and Central and Western Visayas.