The Provincial Veterinary Office aims to boost the dog vaccination program in Negros Occidental with the purchase P10 million worth of anti-rabies vaccines and the reactivation of the Provincial Rabies Coordinating Council this year.
Dr. Placeda Lemana, provincial veterinarian, said on Monday, January 15, that they aim to vaccinate 70 percent of the dog population in the province by purchasing 200,000 doses worth P10M.
They vaccinated 123,826 dogs, or 45.67 percent of the total population, in 2023, she said.
This is 18.35 percent lower than 2022 which had 151,681 vaccinated dogs.
The decrease in vaccination was attributed to the non-delivery of dog vaccines from the national government.
Lemana said that according to the Anti-Rabies Act of 2007, the Department of Agriculture is the agency assigned to deliver dog vaccines to the provinces.
She has proposed to the provincial government to purchase P10 million worth of anti-rabies vaccines to cover the vaccination of the majority of dog population in Negros Occidental, Lemana said.
She also said that PVO is continuing its information dissemination and education campaign for dog vaccination as most of the rabies cases recorded victimized dog owners.
There were 17 rabies cases in Negros Occidental and in Bacolod City in 2023, 10 percent lower compared to 2022, which was at 19.*