ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / September 14, 2008) – A Filipino girl had died after being bitten by a rabid cat in Zamboanga city in Mindanao.
The girl died after her family failed to give her anti-rabies shot, health authorities said. No other details were made available about the girl, except that she died recently.
Local health authorities have warned residents over the dangers posed by rabies.
Dr Rodel Agbulos, the City Health Officer, said rabies from a cat is equally or more fatal than dogs and that treatment should be given quickly to victims bitten by the animals.
He said pet owners should vaccinate their dogs or cats, but anti-rabies vaccines are also expensive. It was not immediately known whether the feline that killed the girl was her pet or a feral cat.
Rabies is common in some parts of the world, particularly in the developing countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Rabies is considered to be a reemerging viral disease because it is poorly controlled in many developing countries despite widely available human and animal vaccines.
The World Health Organization estimates that every year about 12 million people worldwide receive post-exposure prophylaxis and that some 35,000 people - primarily children - die of rabies every year.
However the incidence of rabies in the developing world is believed to be severely under reported. Most rabies exposures are from bites by unvaccinated dogs. (Erico Rosco)
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