Rabies cases in QC decline due to intensified animal vaccination
The intensified anti-rabies vaccination and animal castration drives led to a huge drop of rabies cases in Quezon City, the local government announced on Saturday, Oct. 30.
"From being one of the top 10 cities with highest rabies cases in the Philippines in 2018, QC is no longer in the list. That is because of our ramped-up inoculation drives to eradicate the virus from our pets," Mayor Joy Belmonte said.
According to the local government, the city's rabies cases have dropped from 17 to eight cases based on the 2018 to 2019 data of the Department of Agriculture- Bureau of Animal Industry (DA-BAI).
The City Veterinary Department (CVD) was able to give anti-rabies shots to 82,241 pets from January to Sept. 2021.
City veterinarian Dr. Ana Marie Cabel stressed the importance of the vaccination in the welfare and safety of the citizens.
"Rabies can be fatal to humans if not treated kaya (that's why) if a person gets bitten, kailangan magpabakuna na agad (he needs to get vaccinated right away). Rabies is 100 percent preventable kapag nagamot agad (if it was cured immediately)," Cabel said.
There were also 1,817 animals who underwent spay and neuter procedures.
Aside from the programs, the local government also conducts impounding of stray animals, the usual carriers of the virus.