DOH: Rabies cases down from January to March

(UPDATE) THE Department of Health (DOH) said that 55 rabies cases were recorded nationwide from Jan. 1 to March 1 this year, a 39-percent drop from the 90 logged during the same period last year.

Despite the lower case count, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa reminded the public that rabies is fatal, with a 100-percent fatality rate last year.

The DOH said it recorded 426 cases of rabies in 2024, 193 or 45 percent of which were caused by the saliva of domestic pets.

It said 41 percent of the cases in 2024 involved domestic pets unvaccinated against rabies, while 56 percent involved animals with undetermined vaccine status.

Among the regions with the highest rabies cases last year were Central Luzon with 56 cases, Calabarzon with 35, and Soccsksargen with 43.

From 2020 to 2024, a total of 1,750 patients have died due to rabies, it added.

Herbosa said rabies is a viral disease that comes from the saliva of infected animals and spreads through bites, scratches, or other contact (eyes, mouth, nose, and wound) with the saliva of an infected animal.

Symptoms may show two to three months after exposure to rabies. In some cases, symptoms may arise in a few weeks or as long as one year after exposure depending on the amount of virus that entered the individual's body.

Symptoms include fever, weakness, swelling of wound, fear of air and water, confusion, paralysis, and swelling of the brain and spinal cord.

Herbosa urged the public to have their pets vaccinated against rabies and to avoid animals displaying aggressive behavior.

In case of bites or scratches, wash the affected area with soap and running water and go to the nearest health center or Animal Bite and Treatment Center, he said.