DOH Targets Rabies-Free Philippines by 2020
The Department of Health
(DOH), in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture (DA) led the
celebration of World Rabies Day underscoring the theme: Rabies: Educate. Vaccinate. Eliminate., which
emphasizes the two crucial actions that communities can do to prevent rabies.
It also reflects the global target to eliminate all human deaths from
dog-mediated rabies by 2030.
 |
| ROMMEL ABUDA - GSK Public Affairs & Communication, DR. EMELINDA L. LOPEZ - OIC Animal Health & Welfare Division, DR. PAULYN JEAN B. ROSELL-UBIAL - Secretary of Health, DR. ERIC TAYAG - Spokesperson DOH, DR. CHRISTINE DIZON - GSK Medical Director for Vaccines |
Rabies is a fatal
disease transmitted to humans through animal bites or even scratches, most
commonly by dogs. It is vaccine preventable, but once infection begins, death
is inevitable. In the Philippines, rabies continues to be a public health
problem and is responsible for the death of 200-300 Filipinos annually, with
children having the highest risk.
“Rabies is considered a neglected disease that is
100% fatal but 100% preventable.
Effective and safe medicines have been available for decades to prevent the
disease in humans and animals. None of these deaths should have occurred since
we have the necessary interventions to prevent rabies such as: (1) promotion of
responsible pet ownership, (2) early consultation when bitten by animals and
(3) timely administration of vaccines,” Health Secretary Paulyn Jean B.
Rosell-Ubial explained.
From 2010-2015, 1,463 deaths were recorded by DOH
from human rabies and 180 deaths from human rabies were noted from January 1 to
September 24 2016.
A total of 783,879 animal
bites across the country were registered in 2015. This is 10% higher than in
2014 when the total number of animal bites was 683,802 cases. The increase in
the number of reported cases is attributed to the improved surveillance and
services which enabled bite cases to seek treatment at established public
Animal Bite Treatment Centers (ABTC) and/or private Animal Bite Centers. As of March 2016, a total of 486 ABTCs are located all
over the country, 32 of which are in Metro Manila.
As part of the rabies elimination campaign, a total
of 41 provinces/areas were declared ‘rabies-free’ by DOH and DA, Bureau of
Animal Industry (DA-BAI) from 2008-2016.
The DOH, through the
National Rabies Prevention and Control Program
(NRPCP) in partnership with different agencies and local government units continue
to implement strategies and activities to respond to this public health problem. One strategy is the provision of Post Exposure
Prophylaxis (PEP) in all DOH-recognized ABTCs/ABCs, and Pre-exposure
Prophylaxis (PrEP) especially for high risk individuals and students in high
incidence zones. Meanwhile, PhilHealth through its Animal Bite Treatment
Package defrays the cost of PEP
treatment among all qualified members.
 |
| The Filipino Dog Whisperer Lester Zapanta and his dog A'quiya |
The DOH has lined up
various advocacy campaigns to disseminate information about the illness and how
to prevent it. The DOH also encourages pet owners to have household pets
vaccinated at designated time periods. Lastly, the public is warned against approaching
stray and possibly rabid animals and is reminded to immediately go to the
nearest ABTCs/ABCs when needed.
“Maging responsible. Kung ikaw ay may alagang hayop, pabakunahan ito
agad laban sa rabies. Kung ikaw naman ay nakagat ng hayop, huwag itong
ipagsawalang bahala, pumunta agad sa pinakamalapit na animal bite treatment
center upang ito’y mabigyan ng kaukulang lunas o bakuna laban sa rabies.” Secretary Ubial
concluded.
Rabies FAQ's
|
Question
|
|
|
What is rabies?
|
Rabies
is a virus that attacks the central nervous system that can lead to a serious
illness that can lead to death if not addressed immediately1
|
|
How is rabies transmitted?
|
Rabies is most commonly transmitted
through bites of rabid animals (cat, dog etc). Rabies can also be transmitted
through licks of rabid animals on existing scratches and wounds of
individuals.1
|
|
What are the symptoms of rabies?
|
·
Confused
state of mind1
·
Irritable
and anxious 1
·
Hydrophobic1
·
Abnormal
increase in salivation1
|
|
How long does it take for symptoms to appear?
|
While
the infected individual might seem healthy, the virus may already be
traveling towards the brain. Symptoms of infection may occur weeks or months
after rabies exposure. 1
|
|
How serious is rabies as a public health burden in the Philippines?
|
·
Rabies
is fatal2
·
The
Philippines is a rabies endemic country2
·
200
bite victims died due to rabies infection in 20132
·
40%
of bite victims fall under the age 15 years and below2
|
|
What do I do to prevent rabies infection?
|
·
Treatment
should be started as early as possible after exposure, but in no case should
it be denied to exposed persons whatever time interval has elapsed.3
·
Ensure
complete compliance of the full treatment course. The rabies victim may die
should the individual fail to complete the course of the treatment1
|
|
What is the National Rabies Prevention and Control
Committee (NRPCC)?
|
The NRPCC is a multi-agency effort to control
and eliminate rabies in the country by the Department of Agriculture (DA) and
Department of Health (DOH), Department of Interior and Local Government
(DILG), Department of Education (DepEd) in coordination with other Government
Organizations (GOs), Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and People's
Organizations (POs).
2
|
|
What are actions being taken by the national government to prevent
rabies?
|
·
Human Vaccination: Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) and Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis
(PrEP) led by the National Rabies Prevention & Control Program (NRPCP) 2
·
Database of dog bites led by the NRPCP2
·
Health Promotion – including world rabies day & rabies month
celebration, massive health information using Tri-Media channels, development
of disease awareness materials & integration of rabies program in the
school curriculum led by the NRPCC2
·
Dog Vaccination led by the DA-BAI2
·
Dog Population Management led by the DA-BAI2
·
Central Database System led by the DA-BAI2
·
Responsible Pet Ownership led by the NRPCC2Integration
of Anti-Rabies Instructions to the K
to 12 Curriculum by the DepEd
|
|
What is
the BILIS Campaign all about?
|
The BILIS Campaign is a
disease awareness campaign aligned to the Rabies Free Philippines
Advocacy. The goal of the campaign
is to increase awareness on proper treatment, management and prevention of
rabies infection. This tagline
communicates a sense of urgency to fight rabies immediately. BILIS would stand for the 3 simple
steps on how to manage animal bite exposure.
·
BI – Bilisan
ang paghugas ng sugat2
·
LI – Linisin
ng alcohol2
·
S – Sumangguni sa doktor ukol sa tamang pag-gamot ng sugat2
|
0 comments :
Post a Comment