Woman contracts rabies from cat; monitoring sought

A 52-year-old woman from barangay Parian, Cebu City was infected with rabies after being bitten by her pet cat last Jan. 2.

The case is the first of its kind in the city under her watch, said Dr. Alice Utlang, chief of the Department of Veterinary Medicines and Fisheries (DVMF).

The  cat’s head will be sent to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) for confirmatory testing.

She also urged all cat and dog owners in the city to have their pets registered with her office for a P150 fee so they will be given rabies shots.

“This should serve as a warning to  Cebuanos that rabies is not only common among dogs. Even cats could be rabid,” she said.

The cat may have been bitten by an infected dog, she said.

The female victim told DVMF staff  that she found the stray cat on the street and brought it home out of pity.

The stray cat bit her while she fed it last Jan. 2. The cat died the next day.  An examination on Jan.4 showed the cat had rabies.

“I ordered an investigation because this is the first time for Cebu City to have a cat rabies case,” said Utlang in a press briefing at the mayor’s office.

About 12 rabies cases were reported in Cebu City  last year  from the following barangays:  Apas (1), Basak Pardo (1), Bulacao (2), Guadalupe (1), Hipodoromo (1), Mabolo (1), Pasil (1), Punta Princesa (1), Sambag (2), Sudlon II (1).

The city veterinarian is intensifying its  campaign to have dogs registered. A  vaccination  drive is scheduled after the Sinulog.

Barangay workes may be deputized to  help in their registration campaign.

Utlang said their target is to register  and vaccinate at least 80 percent of the total dog population in the city.

The annual drive  is done in J January as part of the  city’s anti-rabies ordinance and the Anti-Rabies Act.

Utlang said those who fail to register their dogs will be issued citation tickets.

Violations of the two ordinances may be settled by the immediate payment of the P150 registration fee and registration and vaccination of the pet dog.

An option is to do community service by bringing five dog owners and their pets to DVMF for registration and vaccination within three days from the issuance of a citation ticket, Utlang said.

In barangay Punta Princesa, DVMF deputized personnel issued 24 citation tickets to violators of the Anti-Rabies Act and ordinance during a Jan. 8 operation.

They all  opted for settlement of their violation.

Of the 24 violators in barangay Mabolo, five  opted for settlement while 19 were charged in court. Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac