CEBU CITY —This city has stepped up its vaccination campaign due to the increasing cases of rabies.

Dr. Alice Utlang, chief of the Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries (DVMF) here, said that from January to June this year, this city has already recorded 13 cases of rabies.

In the same period last year, there were only seven rabies cases, Utlang said.

Barangay Lahug has the most cases of rabies this year with four.

Failure to hit the vaccination target was the cause of the increase, said Utlang.

"I checked the data, the cases are high because we did not hit the 80 percent of the population of dogs that we need to vaccinate,” said Utlang.

Utlang said to improve the vaccination rate, the DVMF has been conducting vaccination training in the barangays.

“We have to capacitate our barangays by holding training sessions for their vaccinators and our vaccination rate has been improving,” said Utlang.

Instead of impounding stray dogs, Utlang said vaccination is the most effective way to prevent rabies cases.

The DVMF has been rounding up stray dogs for vaccination. Stray dogs that will be rounded up will be vaccinated before they will be released.

“We vaccinate them and then paint them before they are released to indicate that they are already vaccinated,” Utlang said.

To help prevent the spread of rabies virus, Utlang also urged pet owners to be more responsible.

She warned that the city has an ordinance penalizing irresponsible pet owners. Personnel who were deputized by the Office of the Mayor will issue citation tickets to violators.

“If their dogs poop (in public places), the fine is P500. For unvaccinated dogs, the fine is P2,000, and if a dog has bitten someone and was killed without observation, the fine is P5,000. A dog that tested positive for rabies, the fine is P5,000,” said Utlang.