Rabies prevention: Why animal bites should be taken seriously

At around 11 p.m. on June 20, while walking through our dark kitchen to check if the door was locked, I was bitten on the middle part of my lower left leg by a rat as I passed by the washing machine. I immediately turned the light on and saw a very small bite mark on the affected area. After washing it quickly but thoroughly, I went to the nearby Animal Bite Center at Capitol Medical Center along Quezon Avenue, Quezon City.

On the way, I googled “Do rats carry rabies?” and felt comforted to read that no, they do not. I was told the same thing at the Animal Bite Center by Dr. Roger Reyes Jr., who very proficiently attended to me and patiently answered all my questions about animal bites. I was jabbed with a Tetagam Human Tetanus Immunoglobulin PPS shot on the left arm, and the tetanus vaccine on the right arm (to be followed by two more doses on July 21 and Dec. 21), and had the bite mark treated by a nurse. I was also prescribed Co-amoxiclav tablets, which I took twice a day (every 12 hours after meals) for seven days.

Feeling significantly relieved afterwards, I read up on animal bites and rabies in particular when I got home at 1 a.m. As I went through one article after another—including Fatima Ignacio Gimenez’s June 16 column (see “Rabid about rabies”) and the April 6 editorial (see “Rabies: Deadly but preventable”)—I felt (and still feel) even more concerned at the thought that many Filipinos may not take animal bites seriously, especially if they appear superficial. I also began to wonder how much the general public knows about this deadly virus, and if many Filipinos take preventive measures like the most basic one, which is to have their potentially rabies-carrying pets, like cats and dogs, vaccinated.

It is somewhat reassuring to know from my online reading that the Department of Health (DOH), in collaboration with local government units (LGUs), has, among other things, information campaigns on rabies to prevent fatalities resulting from it. Surely, dog and cat owners—regardless of social status—will be more responsible in taking care of their pets by having them vaccinated and keeping them leashed and indoors if they are fully informed about the dangers of rabies.

I hope that the DOH and LGUs do it aggressively and tirelessly because, as someone who regularly walks kilometric distances in different parts of Metro Manila, I see so many stray dogs and cats loitering the streets. I worry all the more for those who live in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas, whose residents could be easily neglected and taken for granted mainly because of the difficulty of reaching them.

As I write this, I recall harrowing online videos of rabies victims on the verge of death—screaming, foaming at the mouth, and suffering seizures in a state of delirium. It’s a horrifying way to die. All efforts must be exerted to prevent such a fate from befalling others, especially since rabies is preventable.