Patients seeking treatment for animal bites in Bacolod City have increased by about 50 percent, a City Health Office representative said on Monday, May 20.
Dr. Carlo Ortega of the City Health Office, at a press conference of Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, attributed the increase in animal bites to the increase in pet owners during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Majority of the reported animal bite cases involved pet owners unlike in the past when they were mostly caused by stray dogs, Ortega said.
In 2022 there were 9,000 dog bite patients, 14,000 in 2023 and further increased this year, he said.
Bacolod City has enough anti-rabies vaccines for humans that are available for free for Category 3 patients suffering from deep open wounds and profuse bleeding from animal bites, Ortega said.
The CHO has about 6,000 anti-rabies vaccines good for about six months, he said.
Free anti-rabies vaccines are not provided for Category 1 (no open wound) and Category 2 (small wounds with not much bleeding) cases as they are not covered by the PhilHealth package, he said.
Dr. John Michael Cabuguason, assistant city veterinarian, said the increase in reported cases, can be attributed to the public’s greater awareness of the need to seek medical treatment for animal bites.
It does not mean that there are more rabid dogs, Cabuguason said.
The City Veterinary Office is aiming to vaccinate 70 percent of the dog population in Bacolod or about 70,000 to establish herd immunity, he said.
They are conducting mass vaccination of dogs and will be rounding up stray dogs in public places such as schools, markets, the public plaza for the protection of the humans and the animals, Cabuguason said.
He said the City Dog Pound has been renovated to increase its capacity, he said.
The dog pound practices zero euthanasia, we can actually call it a dog shelter where the animals undergo rehabilitation, he said.
The dog pound has 32 occupants and can still accommodate up to 50 more, he said.*