By U.S. News Agency / Asian

Every six months household animals must be vaccinated against the rabies virus to ensure the potency of the vaccine. this was announced by the city veterinarian Dr Liborio Arca in a radio interview last week.

Although the vaccine has a one-year potency and this is recorded in the individual animal card, the animals must still be vaccinated twice a year.

The potency can be affected as the vaccines are transported from storage freezer to various barangays of the city. Rare as the case may be but accidents may happen like brown out, or something unexpected to the people handling these vaccines. this is what Dr Arca said to the residents of Barangay Cabalangegan, in the eastern part of the city when he vaccinated some dogs in the area.

The city government under Mayor Eva Marie Singson-Medina has emphasized the importance of animal vaccination to prevent the spread of the fatal disease rabies. the mayor has repeated in radio interviews that the best way to attack the rabies virus is to vaccinate all household animals in the city. this is much safer and less expensive than the vaccination for humans bitten or scratched by animals or exposed to the rabies virus.

About 70 percent of the household animal population which is 668 has been vaccinated to date according to Dr Arca. the city anti-rabies vaccination data of 2010 shows that 468 were already vaccinated as of this month of December. the most number of vaccination was in March (111) and the least is in August (3). Dogs must be vaccinated one or two weeks before the expiration date of the previous vaccination Dr Arca added. If dogs are regularly vaccinated there is no risk of rabies in those that they bite or scratch.

The impounding program of the city is strictly implemented, shared Dr Arca in an interview today when he visited PIA Vigan at the provincial capitol, and handed some data on the impounding of animals in the city. he showed a sample of an adoption paper for unretrieved impounded animals for those who want to adopt them. Conditions on the adoption of animals include an agreement between the city government and the adopting party made in his free will. It’s the duty of the adopting party to give the animal, in all cases, adequate, clean and sanitary housing . whenever necessary he must give sufficient food and water for the animal. And he must prevent by all means the occurrence of acts against cruelty to the animal as provided for in the Animal Welfare Act of 1998.

The Animal Welfare Act of 1998 or Republic Act Number 8485 is an act to promote animal welfare in the Philippines. According to its first section ” It is the purpose of this Act to protect and promote the welfare of all animals in the Philippines by supervising and regulating the establishment and operation of all facilities utilized for breeding, maintaining, keeping, treating, or training of all animals either as objects of trade or as household pets. for purpose of this Act, pet animals shall include birds. ”

For those who want to get back their animals impounded by the city government, they must pay a violation fee of P200.00 and pay for the days their animals spent in the center. this is to strongly implement the city ordinance banning the loitering of animals. Dr Arca also showed pictures of the center showing animals undergoing euthanasia or mercy killing to prevent the spread of rabies. however, he warned that the city impounding center must treat the animals well. If not, cases may be filed against him for maltreatment of animals according to the animal welfare act, by animal welfare groups.

Dogs must be vaccinated one or two weeks before the expiration date of the previous vaccination. On the first vaccination the owner of the animal is given a card showing the breed, sex, name of the owner, address and the vaccination dates.

Better to get vaccinated too, as accidents always happen, Dr Arca continued. for animal trainers and veterinarians like him they must receive the vaccine every six months from the city health office or from the Provincial Veterinary Office where vaccines are given free. Once bitten or scratched by an animal, Dr Arca further warned, the exposed area must at once be washed in soap and water for at least five minutes, and quickly get medical help.

Rabies, according to the Wikipedia, ” is a viral disease that causes acute encephalitis or inflammation of the brain in warm-blooded animals.

[1] It is transmitted by animals, most commonly by a bite from an infected animal but occasionally by other forms of contact. Rabies is almost invariably fatal if post-exposure prophylaxis is not administered prior to the onset of severe symptoms.

“the rabies virus infects the central nervous system, ultimately causing disease in the brain and death. the early symptoms of rabies in people are similar to that of many other illnesses, including fever, headache, and general weakness or discomfort. As the disease progresses, more specific symptoms appear and may include insomnia, anxiety, confusion, slight or partial paralysis, excitation, hallucinations, agitation, hypersalivation (increase in saliva), difficulty swallowing, and hydrophobia (fear of water). Death usually occurs within days of the onset of these symptoms.”

Parents’ fears of hand, foot and mouth disease outbreaks in schools should be allayed by the festive break that will tame the disease, according to paediatrician Victor Grech.

“things will fizzle out over the holidays,” Prof. Grech said about the self-limiting disease, which has a typically mild course and stands apart from the foot-and-mouth disease of cattle, sheep and swine caused by a different virus.

Charmaine Gauci, director of disease prevention in the Health Department, said it had fewer than 10 cases reported in Gozo and Malta. This, Dr Gauci said, was normal for this time of year and the situation was expected to improve with the holidays, when children were away from school thus limiting the extent of spread of the infection.

Prof. Grech said, although paediatricians had seen children with the disease, this was “normal” and he wanted to alleviate parents’ concerns about the infection.

HFMD is a very contagious viral disease that affects small children and infants. Contrary to its potency to spread, it was not a serious disease and nearly all patients recovered within a week without medical intervention, Prof. Grech emphasised.

It usually caused small epidemics in nursery schools and kindergartens, usually in the summer and autumn months, he said.

Very occasionally, the disease could go unnoticed, with infected people only being carriers of the infection, he explained. Usually, HFMD began with fever, loss of appetite, feeling generally unwell and a sore throat. Diarrhoea and vomiting could also occasionally accompany such symptoms. some 48 hours later, painful ulcers developed, starting as red spots then blistering and ulcerating on the tongue, gums and inside of the cheeks. a non-itchy rash, whose red spots could sometimes blister, developed on the palms of the hands, soles of the feet and even on the buttocks, Prof. Grech explained.

Uncommonly, finger and toe nails could be lost in children within a month of contracting the disease.

Very rarely, viral meningitis could occur with HFMD, which was usually mild and did not need specific treatment. even more rarely, a polio-like paralysis or encephalitis could occur, the latter of which could be fatal, Prof. Grech said.

Infection spread from person to person through direct contact with the live virus found in nose and throat secretions, saliva, blister fluid and stools of infectious individuals.

People were most contagious in the first week of the illness and could remain carriers for several weeks after all symptoms had subsided, he said, pointing out that pet to person spread was not possible.

Dr Gauci stressed the importance of proper hygiene such as hand washing and avoiding close contact with infected individuals. She emphasised the importance of not attending school while still sick.

Prof. Grech said no vaccine was available for the disease and there was no specific treatment for it, except for symptomatic care through, for example pain killers for mouth ulcers.

“It is truly no big deal. Children should just keep away from school while contagious to limit the spread,” Prof .Grech said.