MikeLigalig.com

By Rey Anthony Chiu
Philippine Information Agency

Bohol Provincial Veterinarian (PVET) Dr. Stella Marie Lapiz admitted a supply of 124,000 doses of vaccines to get the provincial anti-rabies prevention and eradication going, but do we have the corollary vaccines for human bite victims?

The answer is not enough.
 
While PVET has sourced out a total of 124,000 doses of canine anti-rabies vaccines set for the pre-planned massive vaccination of dogs in Bohol, the Provincial Health Office only has about 200 vials of vaccines for immunoprophylaxis of humans.

Dogs given the vaccines reduce the chances of transmitting rabies virus, but human bit victims should also get the shots to help the body’s immune system in fighting for the rabies virus.

And by this time, there may no more stock vaccines as another 20 vials have been preset to be given to provincial anti-rabies field workers who would be exposing themselves to bite cases when the massive vaccination and elimination program starts this month.

Sounding the alarm over the gap, Dr. Stella Marie Lapiz said at the current rate of about 170-200 bite cases referred to the Gov. Celestino Gallares Hospital (GCGMH) per month, the 200 vials could not and may not go a long way. This way, the provincial rabies program may be literally be going to the dogs.

In Bohol, human rabies vaccines may be available at the pharmacies but the prices could be beyond the victim’s affordability.

Here, indigent bite case victims usually end up asking for assistance from Congressmen’s funds, who also refer them to the Provincial Health Office (PHO) or the GCGMH which keeps the human rabies vaccines.

It may be recalled that a charity group gave 500 vials of human rabies vaccines but those were yet to get to the PHO, Dr. Lapiz shared.

A bite victim should be given at least five human anti-rabies vaccines at P700 each shot within a given series of appointments at bite centers.

Council members said victims may have the money to pay for the vaccines, or that the Congressional Offices may give them cash to get the shots but what if there is practically no vaccine on stock at the government hospitals?

Bohol recently signed a memorandum of Agreement with a private company to set up a bite treatment and specialty clinic to help in its campaign. The agreement stipulates free initial and final shots to victims.

Over this, Board Member Cesar Thomas Lopez who was at the meeting held at the Provincial Veterinarian’s Office said he would ask for mayors to at least shoulder or subsidize the next two shots so that the patients only need not to worry about the remaining shots.

It was not an easy job sourcing out the P3.5M worth of canine rabies vaccines from the Department of Health, Bureau of Animal Industry and the World Health Organization, and that is a vaccine for dogs.

Perhaps we could still ask the DOH some help on the human rabies vaccines since men are more important than dogs.

The BRPEC expected that the PHO could submit funding proposals for such a need.


Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=3094.0