PANGASINAN --- Cases of animal bites increased during the lockdowns imposed due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic with the province of Pangasinan recording a total of 9,489 during the first half of the year.
Provincial Health Officer Anna Ma. Teresa S. De Guzman said 9,391 patients were treated at the different Animal Bite Treatment Center (ABTC) Facilities in the province.
The cases recorded were from January to July, 2020.
To date, there were nine deaths due to rabies in the province which is lower than the 13 reported cases in 2019.
Domestic animals, like dogs and cats, are responsible for most animal bites but dogs cause more bite injuries.
“Marami sa atin ang nasa bahay at hindi natin maiwasan na marami sa atin ay nakikipaglaro sa mga alagang aso. At dahil sa ang panahon ay sobrang init kaya naman iritable ang mga aso na nagiging dahilan ng pagkakagat nila," a hospital staff said. (Most of us who are locked down spend a lot of time with our pets. And also because the temperature has become very hot, the pets become irritable and end up biting people.)
The number of deaths could have been avoided if there was available public transportation to bring the patient to the nearest animal bite center.
"Kailangan pabakunahan ang mga aso taon-taon. Iwasan din po natin na hayaan na lang na gumagala ang mga aso(Rabies shots should be administered every year and pets should not be allowed to roam around)," De Guzman said.