Bacolod City – The Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) proposed a P10 million budget for the purchase of rabies vaccines, as it targets to vaccinate at least 70 percent of the total canine population in Negros Occidental.
Provincial Veterinarian Dr. Placeda Lemana recently said that they were only able to vaccinate 123,000 of the 200,000 dogs in Negros Occidental, as of December 31 last year, which constitutes 45 percent of the total population.
Lemana attributed the drop in vaccination rate in the province to the PVO last year not receiving its supply of rabies vaccines from the Department of Agriculture.
Last year, the PVO also logged 17 positive cases of rabies among dogs in the province, including the highly urbanized Bacolod City, with two suspected rabies cases on humans, both of whom were tagged as fatalities.
Lemana added that they are also encouraging local government units in Negros Occidental to purchase their own supply of rabies vaccines.
Rabies can be prevented through vaccination of dogs and prevention of dog bites, according to the Department of Health. (Gilbert Bayoran via The Visayan Daily Star (TVDS), photo courtesy of TVDS)