• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Provincial Health Office (PHO) has already recorded two suspected human rabies cases, with a senior citizen added to the list of fatalities in Negros Occidental.
Raffy Marmolejo, PHO rabies nurse coordinator, said that a 65-year-old resident of Barangay Taba-ao, Sagay City died because of suspected rabies on June 3.
The victim was bitten by a pet dog on his right hand in April, but he did not seek immediate treatment.
The incident was learned only in May when he was brought to a hospital for difficulty in swallowing water and for hypertension.
Marmolejo said that the hospital staff were alarmed upon learning that the victim was bitten by a dog, and did not seek treatment for rabies.
Records showed that PHO logged 10,893 animal bite cases in the first quarter of 2024.
In January this year, a minor died of suspected rabies in Barangay Macagahay, Moises Padilla.
PHO recorded six deaths due to suspected rabies, with 32,000 bitten by animals in Negros Occidental in 2023. | GB
