Bantay Ko, Alaga Ko: Sept-Nov 2016 Update

Rabies continues to be a public health concern in the Philippines. The World Health Organization ranks the country as one of the top 10 countries with rabies problems. According to the Department of Health, the disease kills 200 to 250 Filipinos per year.

In the 2016 Community Health survey done by the medical students of Ateneo de Zamboanga University- School of Medicine in Barangay Goaw, Liloy, Zamboanga del Norte, 44 (28%)  households out of the 152 surveyed households have dogs as their pets. Moreover, out of a total of 70 dogs, only 2 (3%) dogs were vaccinated. No dogs were registered. Sixty-eight (97%) dogs were not leashed and left to roam the barangay. These unleashed dogs were not considered stray since they would still go back to their owner’s home for food and refuge. However, there were only two cases of dog bites in the Barangay, both were unreported to the RHU and Liloy Integrated District Hospital. In both cases, the bite victims opted to consult a traditional “tandok” healer.

According to the Municipal Agricultural Office’s (MAO) livestock inventory, as of 2015, there was a total population of 2,237 dogs in the entire municipality of Liloy. Most of these dogs, especially those in barangays far from the Poblacion area, were allowed by their owners to freely roam around their barangays. One hundred and sixty one (161) of these dogs were vaccinated during January to May 2016. No dogs were registered.

           

Municipal ordinance on rabies prevention and responsible pet ownership was already passed in Sanguniang Barangay. To date, the group's initiative is awaiting for approval.

During the 2-month long community exposure, two several strategies were employed to meet the objectives.
                             

To increase the knowledge regarding responsible dog ownership and rabies prevention, health education through a 20-minute comprehensive film about responsible pet ownership and rabies was shown to the residents of the Barangay. Before and after the film, only the dog owners were given pre-test and post test, evaluating their knowledge on rabies and responsible pet ownership. Pamphlets written in Bisaya were also given to the residents after the post test.
                            

                           

To increase the number of registered dogs from 0% to 90%, a committee on the registry of dogs, and monitoring of dog bite cases in the barangay was formed. This project was known as Bantay Rabies sa Barangays.

The above mentioned interventions yielded positive results. As of October 2016, Bantay Rabies sa Barangay was initially formed. The planned committee is composed of the purok leaders/kagawads of the barangay headed by the Barangay Chairman. Furthermore, 113 representatives per household attended the film-showing event conducted last October 17, 2016. Among them, thirty-five (80%) out of the 44 dog owners attended. There was an increase in the average scores of the dog owners from pretest score of 3.97 to post test score of 7.4.

The group plans to conduct the mass dog vaccination and registration this November 2016 in coordination with the Department of Agriculture. The group will work hand-in-hand with the DA and the Bantay Rabies sa Barangay of Goaw for this upcoming Anti-Rabies Campaign initiative.