I live in the Philippines now for almost 7 years and am a member of a number of forums and groups Expat, and yet the topic of Rabies has never been discussed. I know about it. I see small clinics with inscriptions about shots of rabies and an occasional mention in a conversation if someone was bitten, but there is something else. about mosquito, malaria and dengue, than about rabies.
So ... should we know more?
Rabies is a serious disease in animals that is transmitted to humans through bites, as well as scratch or lick on open wounds. Animals become infected through contact with virus-infected saliva from rabid animals. In the Philippines, dogs and cats are the most common sources of infection.
The Philippines Department of Health (DOH) estimates that between 600 and 600 Filipinos die of rabies each year. Unfortunately, at least half of those infected are children aged 5 to 14 years. Most people believe that wild or stray dogs are the main carriers, but almost 90% of the victims are bitten by their domestic dogs. DOH recognizes that rabies remains a public health problem in the country, despite the enactment of Republican Law 9482, another known as the 2007 Rabies Law, which aims to eradicate rabies in the Philippines by 2020. Section 11 of RA 9482 provides for the following penalties for irresponsible pet owners:
1) Pet owners who fail or refuse to register their dog and are immunized against rabbis are punished with a fine of two thousand pesos (Php 2000.00)
2) Pet owners who refuse to have their dog vaccinated against rabbis are responsible for violating both the dog and those bitten by their dog.
3) Pet owners who refuse to keep their dog under supervision, after the dog bites a person, will receive a fine of ten thousand pesos (Php 10 000,00)
4) Pet owners who refuse to force their dog under supervision and do not pay the medical expenses of a person bitten by their dog will be subject to a fine of twenty-five thousand pesos (Php 25,000.00)
5) Pet owners who refuse on a leash on their dogs when they are bought outside the home will receive a fine of five hundred pesos (Php 500.00) for each incident
6) The collected dog will be released to its owner after paying a fine of at least five hundred pesos (Php 500.00), but not more than one thousand pesos (Php 1,000.00)
In recent years, the Philippines has been ranked 5th by the World Health Organization in terms of the precedent of rabies. In 2001, a long-time British resident signed a contract with rabbis after a dog bite in the Philippines, and then died in a London hospital. In 2006, two Japanese people were infected after being bitten by dogs in the Philippines.
Rabies is easily prevented on this day and age, but as soon as signs and symptoms appear, rabies is almost always fatal and irreversible.
So if you were bitten, what should you do? This advice by Philip S. Chua, MD Cebu Doctors Hospital
Even if the bite is a rabid animal, human rabies rarely occurs, if necessary, and aggressive local wound and systematic (passive immunization) therapy is immediately introduced after exposure (bite). Local wound care is most important as a preventive measure for the actual development of rabies. The bitten surface must be thoroughly cleaned with soap and benzalkonium chloride. Go to the nearest emergency room for a more definitive treatment. Administration of rabies immune globulin for passive immunization, followed by a human rabies vaccine with a diploid cell (HDCV) or rabies vaccine adsorbed (RVA) for active immunization, provides the best therapy after post-exposure prophylaxis. Both passive and active vaccination should be used simultaneously, taking into account on different parts of the body.
Rabies is a very strange disease among Filipinos. Very few people know that a small scratch or a playful lisa on an open wound can cost a person his / her life. Many, especially in rural areas, still believe that garlic and a few drops of vinegar can cure rabies. It is believed that tandoks or religious healers have the ability to destroy the virus from the body using stone (called batung booh) or suck with Karabao horn or animal bone, which are widely recognized as a wiser and more economic alternative to vaccination.
So, if you think you have been infected by a bite or scratch, immediately contact your local hospital or medical center. Any delay can be fatal.
