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Fur parents and their various pets participate in the Pet Caravan in Valenzuela City on February 24, 2024. The caravan is open to all fur parents living in the city, as it offers sevral services like veterinary consultations, basic pet grooming, and a limited free anti-rabies vaccination services to caravan participants. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

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VALAENZUELA-ANIMALS

Arra Perez

ABS-CBN News

MANILA -- The San Lazaro Hospital in Manila has observed that animals tend to be more irritable during the intense heat, as the hospital recorded a surge in animal bite cases this month. Dr. David Suplico, San Lazaro Hospital&#x27;s chief medical professional staff, said Wednesday that it is also apparent that people have become more aware of rabies and its implications. &quot;Tumaas po ang awareness within Metro Manila kaya nakikita namin isa rin po siyang dahilan kung bakit kami dinadagsa po ng pasyente ngayon,&quot; he added.(Rabies awareness grew within Metro Manila, which we think is one of the reasons why hordes of patients are coming here.)<div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/4/24/2-months-after-being-bitten-by-a-dog-teenager-dies-from-rabies-1951">2 months after being bitten by a dog, teenager dies from rabies</a></div>With this, Suplico said the hospital is experiencing an &quot;unusual surge&quot; in animal bite cases.&quot;Mainit po iyong panahon. &#x27;Pag mainit po iyong panahon, nakikita po natin na ang mga bata po lumalabas sa kanilang bahay at naglalaro. &#x27;Pag naglaro po sila, pati po ang mga hayop natin medyo aligaga &#x27;pag tag-init, na konting hawak lang, kung maapakan naiirita po sila at nangangagat,&quot; he said.(The weather is hot -- that&#x27;s when we see many children go outside their homes and play. When they play, our animals are also rather restless amid the heat that when they are touched or stepped on, they get irritated and bite.)From the 1,300 daily animal bite patients in April, they have been dealing with 3,300 daily animal bite patients since the start of May.The hospital recorded 33,133 total consultations on animal bites from April 1 to 30, while there are already 14,088 total consultations from May 1 to 7, equivalent to almost half of the whole month of April.<div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/4/5/rabies-claims-89-lives-since-january-doh-937">Rabies claims 89 lives since January - DOH</a></div>This has resulted in long lines at the tertiary hospital and discomfort for patients. &quot;Tinatanggap po namin lahat ng mga pasyente dito po sa San Lazaro Hospital. Pero humihingi po ako ng pang-unawa sa mga pasyente po... meron po kaming mga mainit na lugar, lahat po ng mga consequence ng mga mahabang pila. Humihingi po ako ng pasensya po, pang-unawa po sa kanila,&quot; Suplico explained.(We accept all patients here at San Lazaro Hospital. But we ask for our patients&#x27; understanding...some areas here are hot, all consequences of the long lines. We ask for patience and understanding from them.)He encouraged patients especially from far places to check Animal Bite Treatment Centers in their localities.&quot;Doon sana po sila pupunta para po magpatingin (They can go there to get checked up),&quot; he added.The hospital is also adding manpower to tend to patients, but Suplico said it has affected their other operations.<div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/25/24/rabies-cases-increase-dengue-cases-down-doh">Rabies cases increase, dengue cases down - DOH</a></div>&quot;Tinatawag na po namin iyong iba po naming mga kawani na tumulong po kasi hindi na po namin kaya. Ang resulta po nito, marami po kaming mga nag-si-sick leave na ng mga empleyado at nag-a-a-absent na po,&quot; Suplico explained.&quot;Tumatawag na po kami ng mga kasama naming empleyado ng San Lazaro na para po mag-man ng Animal Bite Treatment Center po namin. So meron po kaming mga empleyado pero trabaho nila sa ibang department nagtutulong-tulong na po kami,&quot; he added.Senior citizen and Pasay resident Roberto Zacharias was one of those who opted to get his rabies vaccine in San Lazaro Hospital.He said the hospital was his top-of-mind when he was bitten by their pet cat.&quot;Iyong pusa namin sa bahay, naapakan ko. Parang kinagat ako. Iyong wife ko natakot kasi nakita sa YouTube iyong namatay... Pusang bahay lang siya pero minsan lumalabas din,&quot; he told ABS-CBN News.<div>STRAY PETS </div>Health Secretary Ted Herbosa, who visited San Lazaro Hospital Wednesday, said local government units (LGUs) should improve anti-rabies measures.&quot;The LGUs should also be buying their own vaccines, at sila din iyong dapat nagpe-prevent ng stray animals (and they should also prevent stray animals from proliferating),&quot; he told media during the visit.Herbosa said they have not received reports of rabies vaccine shortage in local government units (LGUs).However, he acknowledged that while there are local Animal Bite Treatment Centers, not all are operational every day, leading many to go straight to San Lazaro Hospital..<div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/life/09/28/23/rabies-is-not-inborn-experts">Rabies is not inborn: experts</a></div>&quot;Wala naman ako nadinig na shortage (I have not heard of any shortage). It&#x27;s really the scheduling and time,&quot; he said.&quot;Re-review-hin ko iyong mga locations ng Animal Bite and Treatment Centers, at pati iyong mga private. Maybe pagpupulungin ko, tingnan natin kung papaano natin maaayos, together with the LGU. I will tell the local chief executives, kung ganito karami, bakit ganoon, marami sigurong stray dogs. Baka dapat city pound, i-develop uli to catch mga stray dogs para to protect the public.&quot;(I will review the locations of Animal Bite and Treatment Centers, as well as those privately operated. I might meet with them and see how this can be improved together with local government. I will ask local chief executives why cases are going up if there are many centers -- probably due to many stray dogs. City pounds could be developed once more to catch these strays to protect the public.)For Herbosa, also crucial to rabies prevention is responsible pet ownership, and lessened exposure to stray animals.He reminded the pet owners to get their dogs vaccinated yearly and, especially for kids, to avoid approaching strays which may not have been vaccinated.&quot;Basta injury galing sa hayop and then hindi niyo alam iyong status ng bakuna noong hayop, kailangan pumunta kayo sa Animal Bite Center. Iyong mga doktor natin na nandito ang mag-ju-judge clinically if you need [vaccine] or not. Pangalawa, kung ikaw ay pet owner, kung bakunado naman iyong aso mo, ordinary wound care ang gagawin doon sa sugat niyo,&quot; he added.(If you get an injury from an animal and do not know its vaccination status, go immediately to an Animal Bite Center. Our doctors there will clinically judge if you need to be vaccinated or not. If you are the pet&#x27;s owner and know they are vaccinated, do ordinary wound care.)<div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/multimedia/video/06/12/23/14-sinakmal-ng-asong-may-rabies-sa-pampanga">14, sinakmal ng asong may rabies sa Pampanga</a></div>Health authorities also told the public to get rabies vaccines immediately after being bitten or even scratched by animals. &quot;Ang hinihimok po namin sa mga mamamayan na dapat po at least kumpletuhin nila po iyong tatlong beses pagpunta nila dito sa ating Animal Bite Treatment Center,&quot; Suplico said. (We urge our citizens to at least complete their 3 rounds of vaccination when they go to the Animal Bite Treatment Center.) &quot;Ang isang problema kasi there is what we call prodromal, na hindi po natin nalalaman na kung kailan po magkakaroon ng rabies. So nakikita po natin within one month to three months, pwede pong magka-rabies from the time makagat ka,&quot; he added.(One problem is what we call prodromal, where we do not know when the rabies will set in. We can see that you can still get rabies within one to three months from when you get bit/wounded.)Pre-exposure vaccine shots for rabies -- for those who were not bitten or scratched but want another layer of prevention -- are also available in private hospitals.Meanwhile, public hospitals and health centers prioritize those who deal with pets, like veterinarians and dog/cat groomers.<div>RABIES CASES </div>Pet owner Eric Pimentel from San Juan makes sure to get his pets vaccinated for rabies.But now, he prefers to tie his dogs and not let them loiter while he awaits for their rabies vaccine schedule at the city&#x27;s veterinary office. &quot;Last year napabakunahan ko na, noong March nag-expire... Pinagagala ko lang, pero hawak hawak ko, pinadudumi ko at pinaiihi,&quot; he said.Data from the Department of Health (DOH) showed 89 rabies cases have been reported from January 1 to March 16.The highest number of cases was recorded in Soccsksargen (Region 12), with 12 cases, followed by Calabarzon (Region 4A) and Bicol regions (Region 5) with 11 cases each.&quot;All human rabies cases are fatalities, resulting in a 100% case fatality rate... 82 (92%) cases report a history of dog bite, while 5 (5%) cases are with history of cat bites and the remaining 2 cases report a history of bites from other animals,&quot; the DOH said.&quot;Among all the cases, only 1 (1%) case was reported that the biting animal was fullly vaccinated, 40 (45%) cases were reported that the animal was unvaccinated, while the remaining 48 (54%) are cases with animals with unknown vaccination status,&quot; it added.

The San Lazaro Hospital in Manila has observed that animals tend to be more irritable during the intense heat, as the hospital recorded a surge in animal bite cases this month.

The San Lazaro Hospital in Manila has observed that animals tend to be more irritable during the intense heat, as the hospital recorded a surge in animal bite cases this month.

Pets more irritable during intense heat, says San Lazaro Hospital, as it records surge in animal bite cases

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Pets more irritable during intense heat, says San Lazaro Hospital, as it records surge in animal bite cases

Arra Perez,

ABS-CBN News

Published May 08, 2024 07:39 PM PHT

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