The local government unit of the Province of Dinagat Islands (PDI) is optimistic that within this year the whole province will be declared as Rabies Free Zone.
Last July 27-30, 2017 a team from the Bureau of Animal Industry and Department of Health headed by National Rabies Program Manager Dr. Raffy Deray conducted the final evaluation.
BAI Team was composed of Drs. Novelle Calub, Daphne Jorca and Joy Lagayan.
Dr. Esther Cardeño, Regional Animal Rabies Coordinator of DA RFO 13 said that DA Caraga and DOH with its provincial and municipal counterparts is working closely to help PDI compliant to all the requirements particularly the implementation of the rabies prevention and control program.
As per general guidelines, an area will be eligible to de declared as rabies free zone if it has enacted a local ordinance on the prevention and control of rabies and implemented localized comprehensive rabies prevention and elimination program and notably no case of confirmed rabies case both on human and animal for the past two years.
Dr. Novelle Calub of BAI emphasized during the evaluation in every municipality in Dinagat Islands that being conferred as rabies free zone is an honor with corresponding responsibilities.
“Acquiring a status as rabies free is a great honor since it will send a strong signal of security to your visitors or tourists yet it carries huge responsibility particularly on maintaining the province rabies free,” Calub said.
If ever affirmative, PDI will be the first province to be declared as rabies free in Caraga Region in addition to last years’ declaration of the island municipality of Soccoro, Surigao del Norte.
To date, more than 20 areas in the country had been declared as rabies free zone.
Dr. Aimee Jimeno, provincial veterinarian said that if PDI will be declared as rabies free it will be the fourth award conferred to the province on health aspect.
“It is our honor that PDI has been declared as filariasis free, malaria free, schistosomiasis free and hopefully rabies free,” Jimeno revealed.
Rabies, a fatal but preventable disease, remains to be a significant public health concern in the country. In the National Rabies Prevention and Control Program (NRPCP), the original plan is to work towards the elimination of Rabies in 2020.
However, with the robust collaboration of the DOH, DA and LGUs in partnership with other non-government and international organizations such as the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the government is optimistic to attain rabies free country by 2016.
DA and DOH believes that eradicating rabies at its source remains to be the key strategy thus its objective is to cover at least 70% of the estimated dog population in the country to be vaccinated against rabies.
Rabies, a zoonotic disease causes 55,000 deaths every year worldwide with 56% of the cases occurring in Asia.
In the Philippines there are 200 - 250 deaths every year mostly among children below 15 years of age. (Aurelius P. Arais/DA Caraga)
=-###=-
No comments:
Post a Comment