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