The government urged the public to avail of free vaccinations for pets to curb rabies as it warned that the vaccine-preventable viral disease has been the cause of death of some 200 to 300 Filipinos every year.

Marking the culmination of the Rabies Awareness Month, the Department of Agriculture (DA) noted that in 2022, as high as 370 rabies-related deaths were reported in the country.

The DA – Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) functions as the chair of the multi-agency/multi-sectoral committee implementing the National Rabies Prevention and Control Program as mandated by Republic Act (RA) No. 9482, or the “Anti-Rabies Act of 2007”.

The Program’s lead implementing agencies are the BAI, the Department of Health (DOH), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in coordination with local government units (LGUs), non-government organizations (NGOs), people’s organizations, and other sectors.

Agriculture Assistant Secretary Constante Dante Palabrica emphasized that the disease poses dreadful harm to people.

“Ngayong 2024, walompung mahigit na ang namamatay sa rabies. Kaya ang BAI, ang DA Livestock Division ay nakatuon ngayon sa rabies,” he said.

He pointed out that prevention, through vaccination of pets, is better than the cure since shots of anti-rabies doses on humans are costly.

“One inch a day, gumagapang iyong virus sa tao. So, it will take a month or two, mamamatay iyong tao. At kung magpapabakuna ka naman ng anti-rabies sa tao, napakamahal,” Palabrica said.

The just-concluded Rabies Awareness Month in March, themed “Rabies Free na Pusa at Aso, Kaligtasan ng Pamilyang Pilipino,” highlighted the need to have dogs and cats vaccinated against rabies.

DA Undersecretary Deogracias Victor Savellano, for his part, vowed to continue intensified information and prevention measures against the spread of rabies.

He underscored, “It is considered a neglected prognosis as it is 100 percent preventable through vaccination and the Department is committed to strengthening this program.”

The government aims to achieve a rabies-free Philippines by the year 2030.

📷: Philippine Veterinary Medical Association website