LINGAYEN, Pangasinan — Health officials on Monday expressed alarm over the high rabies death rate in Pangasinan.

Dr. Anna Maria Teresa de Guzman, provincial health officer, said that from January to June this year, nine rabies cases were recorded and all of the victims died.

"What worries us is that out of nine rabies patients, five of them were bitten by their pets, and the rest, by stray dogs," de Guzman said.

De Guzman, along with other health officials, were resource persons during the regular session of the provincial board at the capitol here.

"The problem that has been bugging most of us is that there are a lot of requests for assistance for rabies vaccines," said board member Jerry Agerico Rosario, who called for the inquiry on Pangasinan's rabies cases.

"There was even a viral post (in the social media) about a rabies patient, which may have increased the awareness and the fear of our province mates regarding rabies," Rosario said.

According to the Provincial Health Office's rabies surveillance update, as of July 8, the number of cases this year is 125 percent higher than the four rabies cases reported in the same period last year.

The youngest victim was an 11-year-old boy, who was bitten by his dog on his right lower ear lobe, and the oldest was an 83-year-old man, who was bitten in both legs.

Two victims each were reported in the towns of Mangatarem and Sison and the rest came from the towns of Aguilar, Bayambang, Binalonan, Bolinao and Tayug.

"Our observation is that our stray dogs were not vaccinated. This is what we can see from the data provided to us," de Guzman said.

Provincial veterinarian Arcely Robeniol told the provincial board that only 81 percent of the province's dog population have been vaccinated.

"We are still in the semiannual phase. We are hoping that the remaining 19 percent that were not vaccinated by the DA (Department of Agriculture) and OPVet (Office of the Provincial Veterinarian) will be vaccinated by the end of the year," de Guzman said.

Asked by Rosario if the province has enough anti-rabies vaccines, De Guzman said that the province received a total of 10,376 vaccines from the Department of Health (DoH) in 2023 and 6,417 vaccines for January to June this year.

Vice Gov. Mark Ronald Lambino said that a bigger concern of the provincial board was the reported 50,000 animal bites cases in the province but only around 10,000 cases were addressed or treated.

"Only a few of these were rabies cases. But we have to address that big gap (of unattended animal bites cases)," Lambino said.

He said that there is a need to stress in an information campaign that animal bite victims should get treatment from a medical facility. He also said that the establishment of animal bites centers in the province should be institutionalized.

At present, only 12 of the 14 provincial government-run hospitals are DoH-accredited animal bite centers. Lambino also said that laws against stray animals should also be strictly implemented throughout the province.