Rabies deaths rise in Bicol

LEGAZPI CITY—The number of deaths due to rabies, a deadly disease commonly spread by animal bites, has risen by more than half in the Bicol region, according to the Department of Health (DOH).

Aida Ruby Jeremias, rabies coordinator of the DOH regional office in Bicol, said from 14 deaths in 2014, the number of deaths caused by rabies had increased to 24 in 2015.

Jeremias said most of the cases were reported during vacation days last year when people were busy with festivals, excursions “and more children are playing outside their homes.”

She said the province of Camarines Sur had the highest number of deaths in the region with 13 in 2014 and 13 in 2015.

From January to May this year, the DOH reported 11 rabies deaths in three provinces— Camarines Sur (7), Camarines Norte (3) and Sorsogon (1).

Catanduanes has had no record of rabies deaths.

Jeremias attributed Catanduanes’ good record to effective programs of the local government and health officials there.

“Rabies is 99 percent fatal but 100 percent preventable,” said Jeremias.

“So if you are bitten [by a rabid animal], you need to go to our animal bite centers to prevent the virus from spreading and to be given the proper treatment,” she said.

She said people who had been given vaccines for rabies had 100 percent survival rates against rabies. “Those who died were not vaccinated,” she said.

Dr. Nathaniel Rempillo, head of the Albay provincial health office, said the rabies virus attacked the central nervous system and spreads through the nerves. When it reached the spinal cord and brain, muscles would be paralyzed, he said.

Dogs were the most common carriers of the rabies virus, Rempillo said.

People found to have been infected by rabies, he said, were virtually carrying a “death sentence.”

“But it may be prevented,” he said.

Jeremias said the DOH had been administering antirabies vaccine for free since 2015.

She said health officials had noticed that people who received the initial free antirabies vaccine shots did not return for follow up shots that were no longer free.