March is Rabies Awareness Month. Rabies being a disease that can be transmitted from animals to humans is of importance because it's a public health concern. It's so special that there's even a law for the "control and elimination" of this disease here in the Philippines. It's Republic Act 9482 which became a law 2007. At present rabies (in Tagalog, rabis) is still a threat specially here where in not 100% of pets are vaccinated.
What pet owners should know about rabies:
-Rabies is a disease. It is a viral disease. It requires a bite from an infected animal to infect another. The virus is shed via saliva of an infected animal.
-Dogs or cats are not born infected with rabies. Animals with the virus die, because it's a disease.
-Rabies is preventable. Vaccines against rabies is widely available and are highly immunogenic. This means that healthy animals when vaccinated usually produce good antibody response which protects them from the disease. In the clinic, we have sent blood samples to European laboratories and all of them showed good immunity against rabies. (It's a requirement for exporting dogs and cats.)
-Vaccination here in the Philippines is annual. It is every three years in some countries because they are free from rabies.
-Vaccination is usually done beginning 3 months of age, and annually thereafter. It is done to maintain the antibodies against the disease, which provides protection for the entire year.
-Rabies vaccine is safe. (I have encountered someone who refuse to have their dog immunized because their dog died after rabies vaccination.) A requirement prior to the immunization is a health check done by your veterinarian. The temperature is usually taken and a thorough physical examination is conducted including history taking. This is to ensure that the pet is healthy to (1) make sure that the animal would have a good immune response to the vaccine administered and (2) make sure that the animal's immune system would not be suppressed by the vaccine given.
-Rabies vaccine is cheap! Post-exposure treatment for rabies is costlier if you or a family member is bitten by a rabid dog. It could cost you a few thousand pesos but the anxiety and paranoia is much more difficult to handle!!!
And please, tell your neighbors to have their dogs vaccinated too!
