Cainta, Philippines boosts its efforts to achieve a rabies-free community

December 23, 2012 started as a typical day for 11-year old JB. He played with his friends outside their house at Barangay Sto. Domingo in Cainta on the outskirts of Manila in the Philippines.. While playing, JB saw a stray dog and teased it with his feet. Unfortunately, the dog bit JB on his waist. A few days later, the dog was found dead.

For treatment, JB’s father brought him to a traditional healer. JB was not given post-exposure vaccinations. One month later, JB showed typical signs of rabies; hydrophobia and salivation. He was brought to the Bagong Cainta Municipal Hospital where he was diagnosed as a probable rabies case and referred to San Lazaro Hospital. That same afternoon, JB died. 

The Municipality of Cainta has been trying to implement a rabies control program in their area for many years. In 2012, in order to make Cainta a Rabies-free community, the local government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with GARC to develop and implement a comprehensive rabies control program anchored on mass dog vaccination and promotion of responsible pet ownership. The Municipal Agriculture Office (MAO) and Municipal Health Office (MHO) are the lead agencies implementing the project in collaboration with other partners like the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) and the World Animal Health Organization (OIE).

On March 2013, a dog census was done to determine the dog population in the municipality. This information is important in planning the mass dog vaccination campaign and dog population management. This census was done in cooperation with the municipal health officer, municipal veterinarian, and the village health workers (VHWs). Census stickers (pictured) were posted outside each house visited. The census showed that there were around 30,000 dogs in the whole municipality. 

A Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices (KAP) Survey on rabies and pet ownership was conducted among 300 households last April, in collaboration with the MHO and the Department of Health’s Field Epidemiology Training Program. It aimed to identify the demographics, pet ownership, rabies awareness, health seeking behaviors, and attitudes of residents towards rabies. Results showed that 80-90% of adult residents know what rabies is and 34-52% consider themselves to be at risk of getting rabies.

The mass dog vaccination was conducted from May 20 to June 1, 2013. Twenty-one veterinary students from the Central Luzon State University were invited to help in the vaccination. Working alongside the veterinary students were VHWs who recorded the vaccination of each dog, and the municipal veterinarian, Dr. Alex Siblag supervised the campaign. GARC used 20,000 doses of vaccines from the batch of vaccines received from the OIE regional vaccine bank, 29,000 dog collars and tags, 20,000 syringes, and other vaccination equipment to support this mass dog vaccination campaign. In a span of two weeks, the vaccination team was able to vaccinate over 15,000 cats and dogs. According to Dr. Siblag, almost 18,000 cats and dogs have been vaccinated in the municipality since January.

Aside from the vaccinations, there have been efforts to increase the public’s awareness on responsible pet ownership and rabies prevention. GARC has provided 20,000 brochures and 200 posters for distribution. Tarpaulin banners were also posted in strategic areas to raise awareness.

With the persistence of  these concerted efforts and the cooperation of the whole community, Cainta will hopefully achieve a rabies-free status in the long run.

Submitted by Dane Medina, Communications officer for the GARC Philippines office.