02/03/2022
Let’s vaccinate and together we can end rabies!
Pursuant to Executive Order No. 84, the month of March is dedicated to spread awareness on rabies as a zoonotic disease - which means that rabies may be passed on from animals to humans. This year’s theme is “Rabies-free na pusa’t a*o, kaligtasan ng pamilyang Pilipino.”
Rabies is prevalent among house pets specifically in dogs. True to this year’s theme, it is imperative that we have our pets vaccinated against rabies, especially our dogs as 99% of recorded deaths due to rabies are transmitted from dogs. But in the Philippines, research shows that it is a challenge to vaccinate 70% of the “at-risk” dog population if the dog population is underestimated (Dizon et al., 2022). This, in turn, calls for the need to revisit the existing guidelines of the rabies control program to allow for adequate statistics for vaccine coverage of the country’s dog population.
Read more about the study here: https://ritm.gov.ph/dog-population-and-vaccination-finding-the-right-ratio-to-achieve-rabies-free-philippines/