Rabies kills one person every 10 minutes.
This was revealed by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in the paper “Escaping Rabies’ Death Crawl: PH’s combat against the deadline disease.”
Most of the deaths due to rabies happened in Asia and Africa.
Half of the number involved children who were 15 years old and younger, RITM reported, quoting a study done by the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Rabies hits the nervous system, causing death in a few days.
But rabies is preventable.
Knowing this and the terrible consequence of being bitten by a rabid dog, the Meycauayan city veterinarian office (Bulacan), Barangay Lawa officials and the Ciudad Grande Homeowners’ Association offered free anti-rabies vaccination to dogs and cats in the the barangay last March 5.
A total of 366 dogs and cats were given the anti-rabies shot.
Animal welfare groups Save ALL Inc- Save Animals of Love and Light and Whelps helped organize the event.
Sylvia P. Ongsing, Save ALL representative for Bulacan, coordinated with the city vet, the barangay and the homeowners’ association to ensure most if not all of the pets in the barangay are given the shot.
The homeowners association led by president Rolando Hernandez hosted the anti-rabies drive in the subdivision’s basketball court.
Barkin” Bakes Healthy Pet Food, through their generous donors, sent free dog food and cat food as treats to the furbabies, most of whom were afraid but still smiled after being injected.
The anti-rabies injection must be given to all dogs and cats yearly. The first shot is given when they are pups or kittens, or at about eight weeks of age. The injection will ensure both humans, cats, and dogs are safe from rabies.