ANGELES CITY- Cases of rabies traced to dog bites in Central Luzon went down by 57 percent, but most of them died because of their failure to access available anti-rabies vaccines.
During a training participated in by personnel from 29 Animal Bite Treatment Centers (ABTCs) in the region, the Department of Health (DOH) regional office reported only 19 rabies cases in 2011, much lower than the 44 cases reported the previous year.
Bulacan had the most with 12 cases, followed by Tarlac with four and Nueva Ecija with three.
But Rabies Prevention and Control Program regional coordinator Dr. Rhodora Cruz lamented that “though ABTCs exist, 90 percent of human deaths due to animal bites did not receive vaccination, meaning the person exposed to rabies did not undergo prophylactic treatment.”
The DOH sponsored the three-day training for ABTC personnel in Central Luzon “to control and eventually eliminate deaths due to rabies.”
ABTC’s provide treatment to victims of bites, not only of dogs, but also of cats, livestock, monkeys and other domesticated or wild animals.
“The training informed nurses and doctors on guidelines on management of animal bite patients, and managing rabies exposures secondary to bites by vaccinated dogs and cats, as well as information on rabies immune globulin, and intradermal administration of tissue culture vaccines,” Cruz noted.
She said that rabies immune globulin is given to patients who have been exposed to an animal that is believed to have rabies, while intradermal immunization using cell-culture-based rabies vaccines is an acceptable alternative to standard intramuscular administration.
“Intradermal vaccination has been shown to be as safe and immunogenic as intramuscular vaccination, yet requires less vaccine, for both pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis, leading to lower direct costs,” she said.
