‘Over 100 cases daily ti as-asikasuen tayo’ - KPH Animal Bite Treatment Center

Tabuk City, Kalinga – Animal bites have been one of the most cases attended to by the Kalinga Provincial Hospital with its Animal Bite Treatment Center(ABTC), catering to as high as 170 cases a day, according to ABTC Coordinator Analiza Gayudan.

Among the departmentalized services being offered at the KPH is the ABTC, providing free anti-rabies vaccines to the public, particularly to the towns outside Tabuk City since the city has its own center for bite treatment.

Talking to GURU Press Cordillera, Gayudan revealed that many individuals are coming to the KPH to get anti-rabies shots, even those who have been bitten the previous years, amid the viral videos on Facebook showing how fatal rabies is. Most bites, she added, come from dogs, cats, and bats.

“Baka diay met lang gamin nag-viral ti Facebook nga about rabies isu nga uray dagiay previous years nga nakagat ket umay da amin. Ipilit da, i-request da nga agala ti vaccine, for their peace of mind,” she said.

Gayudan also informed that only one rabies case was confirmed this 2025 – the case of the mother who was bitten by a dog in Lubuagan in February this year.

Free vaccine at the ABTC

Gayudan explained that the anti-rabies shots are composed of three doses and that they are all given free, provided that stocks are available.

“Free talaga, nu adu ti stock, care of Malasakit. Pero nu medyo makita nga mabitin ket adda lang ti kasla maysa nga counterpart da [patient], diay first dose; the rest of dose ket cover ti Malasakit. Nu adu met stock mi, free amin diay three doses,” she explained.

Not favoritism but prioritization of patients

Amid accusations on social media that the KPH plays favoritism on patients; Gayudan clarified there is an algorithm in prioritization of patients from the Department of Health that they follow. She explained that there are three categorizations of patients and they prioritize those under category III, which includes bites that deeply lacerate or puncture the skin and bites on neck up to the head since these are the parts of the body close to the brain.

“Diay categopry 3 ket diay sugat nga as in nga flowing ti bleeding na, ken pati diay kagat iti neck and head. Uray nu abrasion lang ngem nu head and neck iti nakagat ket considered as category 3 ta asideg ti utek. Nu category 3 ket isudan ti deretso nga ma-vaccine-an en nga dagus,” she said.

Gayudan added that the second priority is the category II, which include induced bleeding or bites that bleed because the victim forced it to. For the category I, this covers scratches and bites that didn’t bleed. Gayudan said this doesn’t immediately require vaccination, but rather washing of the wound with soap and running water for at least 15 minutes.

Categories I and II, Gayudan said, are the cases which are for observation for 14 days. She explained that within those 14 days, the animals such as dogs or cats that bit the patient should be contained and observed within those 14 days – when these animals get sick and die, the people they had bitten should be vaccinated immediately as this is one of the indications of rabies.

Be informed and be responsible pet owners

KPH OIC-Chief Dr. Rey Aranca, meantime, conveyed that while there is only one confirmed rabies case in Kalinga this year, being informed on the nature of rabies is crucial to combating the spread of rabies which is a deadly virus. He added that rabies prevention is a shared responsibility and that pet owners should get their pets vaccinated against anti-rabies too.