DA to vaccinate dogs, cats to curb rabies cases in Marinduque livestock

The Department of Agriculture (DA) said Monday it will begin to vaccinate dogs and cats in Marinduque in an effort to curb the cases of rabies infections among livestock in Marinduque.

According to Tina Panganiban-Perez’s 24 Oras report Monday, the DA is setting aside funding for the vaccination of dogs and cats in the province as part of an anti-rabies campaign for cows and pigs.

“At least man lang 40-50% of the livestock, of pets, will be vaccinated. So DA now is preparing a budget,” DA Assistant Secretary Dante Palabrica said.

“The latest ngayon ay sa Marinduque ay pati cattle, natatamaan. Pati wildlife. Tumalon na sa cattle ang rabies kaya they have to pursue also vaccination kasi the rabies will come from dogs and cats,” said Palabrica.

(Rabies infections have spread even to cattle and wildlife in Marinduque. They have to pursue vaccination of dogs and cats because the virus will come from them.)

Livestock, such as cows and pigs, exhibit symptoms of rabies infections similar to dogs including excessive drooling, and deaths within a three-to-five day period.

At least six pigs and two cows were reported to have rabies in the island province.

Asked if rabies from cattle can be transferred to humans, he said: “If it is not cooked properly, just like any other disease, it will move to the human”.

To prevent this, the Agriculture Department called for the vaccination of cows against rabies and reminded consumers to only buy meat products that were certified by meat inspectors.

Free rabies vaccine

Meanwhile, the DA earlier offered free anti-rabies vaccine and microchips for cats and dogs.

“It’s present even if it’s rainy, summer. Sobrang dami na kasi ng animals, ng dogs and cats dito sa Pilipinas at napapabayaan nang walang injection ng rabies,” said Palabrica.

(It’s present even in the rainy or summer season. There are a lot of dogs and cats in the Philippines so a lot of them were left without injections.)

According to the Department of Health (DOH), at least three to five individuals die on average in the Philippines per year due to rabies.—Sundy Locus/RF, GMA Integrated News