‘One dose of anti-rabies vaccine per patient only’

THE Iloilo City Health Office (CHO) can only provide one dose of anti-rabies vaccine to every patient due to worldwide shortage in supply.

Dr. Bernard Caspe, CHO chief, said anti-rabies vaccines for humans is hard to come by nowadays.

“Ang problema, ang passive nga vaccine is P5,000 per vial. Kun adult, three vials ang needed and sang una maka-provide gid kami three doses for free. Pero subong kay gakulang angsupply, one dose nalang gid akon mahatag,” Caspe said.

The Department of Health (DOH) stopped Rabipur’s production and temporarily suspended its procurement due to quality woes. Another vaccine brand, Verorab, also suffered production failure due to shortage in raw materials.

According to Dr. Maila G. Buyco, CHO Medical Officer IV, the DOH gave 25 vials of anti-rabies vaccine to Iloilo City. But the vaccine supply is running out, she added.

The Office of the City Veterinarian (OCV) said that from January to July 2018, the Regional Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory of the Department of Agriculture (DA) detected eight positive animal rabies cases in Iloilo City.

In an interview, Dr. Tomas Forteza Jr., OCV head, said the clustering of rabies cases in Iloilo City is due to difficulties in border vaccination. The city has no natural boarders, thus, rabid dogs from other towns can easily cross the boundaries and spread the infection.

Caspe stressed that the Iloilo City Rabies Control Council should be reconstituted as soon as possible to prevent the clustering of cases.

In case of animal bite, the pet owner should be responsible to pay for the vaccine of the individual affected, Caspe said.

Buyco added, “If you’ve been bitten, biskan wala pa symptoms, pa-consult ukon pa-vaccine dayon. Kay kun ma-delay ang consultation and ara na ang symptoms, indi na ina ma treat.”

Despite being considered as 100% fatal, the DOH said rabies is a neglected disease as it is highly preventable. The period for the infection to develop can only last for a few days.

According to Buyco, the earliest recorded death in Iloilo City was 4 days after the victim was bitten.

SOURCE: The Daily Guardian