By Leilanie G. Adriano
Staff reporter
LAOAG CITY—Over the past two
years, the province of Ilocos Norte has sustained its effort as a rabies-free
community with zero rabies case recorded so far both in humans and dogs since
2013.
Through a massive dog
vaccination drive, covering at least 70 percent of the 557 barangays of the
province, Dr. Loida Valenzuela, head of the Provincial Veterinary Office
said continuing efforts of a multi-sectoral group composed of various
government agencies and non-government organizations including the formation of
rabies councils in the province, city, municipality and barangays which primary
aim is to control and eradicate rabies in the community and help realize the Rabies-Free
Philippines program by the year 2020, and sustain the same through the years.
To showcase its best
practices and learn from the experiences of its neighboring provinces in Ilocos
Sur, La Union and Pangasinan, a regional rabies summit was held on March 26 at
the Plaza del Norte in Laoag City.
Involving all sectors of the
community, the summit hopes to intensify its anti-rabies campaign in time for
the observance of Rabies Awareness Month this March.
Five years ago, Ilocos Norte
has been one of the five provinces in the Philippines with the highest number
of canine rabies incidents.
This prompted the third
Sangguniang Panlalawigan to enact an ordinance governing rabies control in the
province on March 12, 1997.
In line with the national
government’s goal of a Rabies-Free Philippines by year 2020, Ilocos Norte in
partnership with the Global Alliance for Rabies Control strived
to free people and animals from rabies.
Through the help of organized
Bantay Rabies Barangay volunteers, the PVET continue to spearhead
mass vaccination of domestic dogs while promoting responsible pet ownership and
humane dog population control.
As one of the priority
programs of the provincial government under the Millennium Development Goals to
control and eradicate zoonotic diseases which includes rabies, Valenzuela hopes
the summit will continue to inspire all stakeholders especially at the
community level to provide a strong and sustained effort in the control and
eradication of this fatal disease, killing hundreds of Filipinos every year,
according to the Department of Health.
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