Andrea Jean P. Orevillo
MT 43 – AB
November 24, 2020
Reflection for the Rabies documentary by DOH
It has been a long time since I heard about numerous active cases of Rabies
because of the effective implementation of the RA 9482 which is known as the AntiRabies Act of 2007. Due to the implementation of annual rabies vaccine shots for pets
and for animals roaming free, the cases of rabies went down for the past few years
however, it does not mean that the virus itself is gone.
There are two types of manifestation of the rabies in animals which are “dumb”
and “furious” type. Although, the furious type accounts for approximately 80% of the
causes and the dumb type accounts for 20% of the cases. The furious type is known to
manifest signs of hyperactivity, hypersalivation, periods of agitation alternating with
lucidity, hydrophobia and sometimes aerophobia.
If an individual is bitten by an animal or even contact with the mucous membrane
with the infected saliva, the virus can make its way to the point of entry to the brain since
it affects our nervous system. The documentary shows the importance of having your
pets vaccinated because it does not only save the owners or people who will get bitten
but it will also save the animal. It is a common belief that the dog has rabies once it will
die a few days after biting. That claim is not entirely true because dogs are not like bees
that once they would sting, they cannot get the stinger out and forcefully pulling causes
massive abdominal rupture. The scientific reason why animals that are infected with
rabies die after biting someone is because once they show symptoms (for furious types),
that means there days are already counted. This is also seen in the patients in the
documentary that once symptoms of severe cases have been seen, the patient cannot
be saved anymore. It may be a horrifying sight to see patients act like that but that is how
the virus affects the body. The virus really has no remorse in terms of what it does in the
body hence, it should serve as a lesson that vaccinating your animals is your responsibility
as an owner.
Other than the importance of vaccinating our pets, the video taught me that despite
the presence of rural health clinics and barangay health centers in the remote areas,
people are still opting for traditional medicine as a treatment. The Department of Health
should spread more awareness to areas on diseases like rabies because it could save
the lives of others. The manifestation of rabies can easily pass as being possessed and
it may look like that to those individuals who are unaware of what the virus is. Preventing
the event of the spread of false information should also be a priority of the government.
One realization I had when I finished the video is that the government should
allocate more funds the city pounds because it does not only benefit the animals but also
the people in the surrounding. There are some areas where dogs are just freely roaming
around and there are cases where they would not hesitate to bite people who are walking
nearby. A recent news reported that there was a man who is the provincial veterinarian
of the province of Marinduque who shot the dogs who were “surrendered” by their owners.
The netizens including myself question the approach to the veterinarian since the
province is free of rabies hence, there is really no need to take drastic actions against the
dogs. Also, to the owners who surrendered their dogs and allowing the killing of dogs
done that way is also part of the problem. It is clearly stated in RA 10631 that the torture,
neglect, maltreatment, or killing of dogs is unlawful and public officers or employees who
would violate the law can be fined or imprisoned. I believe that if one is not capable of
taking care of their pets, killing them is not the most appropriate answer. I would be better
that these animals will be adopted by another individual capable of taking care of the pet.
To summarize, the video taught me the nature of the rabies virus, the ways to
prevent being infected, the availability of a vaccine and the important of proper pet care
as an owner. The rabies virus way is not common in the Philippines anymore due to the
implemented laws and regulations however, the virus is still out there. We should be
vigilant enough to keep ourselves posted of any updates regarding the cases of rabies
and also, responsible enough to vaccinate our pets.