PAGADIAN CITY—When it comes to villages with high incidence of dog
bites, Balangasan District is a first, a latest paper released by the
City Veterinary Office (CVO) said.
The said barangay is the most populous among the 54 villages in this
city and was mentioned by the City Health Office last year as the
leading village which is also a dengue-prone district.
Following Balangasan in the rabies menace list is Sta. Lucia and San
Pedro—both coastal barangays—Sto. Niño, Tiguma, Napolan, Tuburan, San
Jose, Sta. Maria and Kawit.
The CVO is currently implementing a city ordinance banning stray dogs
in streets as well as offering free vaccination to pet dogs to prevent
the spread of rabies.
A Human Rabies Report paper obtained by this paper from the Zamboanga
del Sur Medical Center (ZSMC) noted an increase of dog bite cases from
288 for the last quarter of last year to 315 for the first three
months of 2010.
Some 648 dogs were immunized by the CVO last year while 246 are
recorded for the first quarter of 2010.
There are 183 persons who completed treatment doses, the ZSMC report
paper added, while about 132 defaulted or did not return for the
second treatment.
Also, more males were bitten by dogs in the city than females and most
were below 15 years old.
Mayor Samuel Co has said in his weekly report aired over the radio
that the campaign against stray dogs will continue after stopping it
during the election period.
A makeshift dog pound is constructed at the Rotunda in Dao for locking
away caught stray dogs.
Rabies is a virus that is usually transmitted by a bite from an
infected animal such as a dog, ca, monkey, pig or horse.
If a bite from a rabid animal goes untreated and an infection
develops, it is almost always fatal while problems can be prevented if
the exposed person receives treatment before symptoms of the infection
develop.