Monday, September 28, 2015

Washing wounds after animal bites urged



DAVAO CITY, Sept 28 (PIA) Health authorities warned that the best first aid for dog and other animal bites is cleaning the wound with a running water and laundry soap.

The call was issued as the country commemorates the World Rabies Day today.

Dr. Gracita Berguia, medical officer for the Rabies Program of the Department of Health 11 said after cleaning with wound with soap and water, it is best to bring the patient to the doctor for consultation.

She said that rabies is very fatal and would attack primarily on the nervous system.

Berguia said the patient will surely die once the rabies reaches the brain.

“The rabies can kill but it can be prevented,” she said.

Berguia said once a person is bitten or scratched either by a dog or cat or any animal, the wound must be washed immediately with soap and water and consequently, the patient must be checked by a doctor for immediate vaccination.

She said the rabid virus is carried to the brain through the blood and not through tissues and muscles.

Dr. Rafael Mercado, assistant director of the Department of Agriculture for research, regulations and integrated laboratory said clinical studies show that rabies can manifest even within 20 years depending on the distance of the wound to the brain.

A total of Twenty Thousand residents have been bitten by animals in Davao Region on the first six months of 2015, lesser that the total of number of 33,837 animal bites in 2014.  (PIA 11-Joey Sem G. Dalumpines)

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