Rabies prompts state of calamity
Philippine Daily Inquirer (September 17, 2007)
DAGUPAN CITY—MAN'S BEST; friend is causing a plague in Bauang, La Union, prompting officials to join hands in vaccinating all dogs in the town and neighboring areas due to the upsurge of rabies cases.
Provincial agriculturist Avelino Lomboy said the Bauang officials declared the town under a state of calamity after 95 people were reported to be infected with rabies. Three persons have died since January this year.
The most number of cases came from the villages of Central West and Parian West, Lomboy told the inquirer by telephone on Sunday.
The provincial government has vaccinated 450 dogs in the town while the Bauang government is ready to buy more antirabies vaccines, he said.
"We are undertaking massive antirabies vaccination, with personnel going around the villages giving dogs the needed shot," he said.
Lomboy said the provincial government had also asked the national government for more antirabies vaccines so they can undertake a province-wide vaccination.
He said there was no record of the number of rabid dogs because they were more focused on the people affected.
He said he put his dog to sleep after it was bitten by a rabid stray dog. "My dog got out of the gate and was bitten, so while it hurt, we had to kill it," he added.
Bauang has an ordinance prohibiting stray dogs. Penalty is P1,000 for every un-confined dog.
"But the local government is having a difficult time in implementing it," Lomboy said. He said a rabid dog is restless, red-eyed, with dripping saliva and is always moving. The dog can be exceptionally aggressive and may attack without provocation;
In Bulacan, officials in Bustos town have been pushing for a mandatory vaccination of pet dogs there to prevent rabies infection.
Mayor Carlito Reyes said the provincial board was seriously considering the town's proposal to have all dogs vaccinated.
Since the implementation of the town's antirabies program, a number of families refused to subject their pet dogs to vaccination, claiming that their pets became weak due to the effects of the medicines, he said.
A man died recently of rabies inflection and 40 people were infected with rabies in Bustos.
Through a provincial board resolution, the Bustos local government placed Barangay Liciada under a state of calamity to facilitate the immediate release of funds for vaccination and medical needs of the residents who were infected with rabies. Yolanda Sotelo-Fuertes, Inquirer Northern Luzon, and Carmela Reyes, Inquirer Central Luzon |
