BACOLOD CITY -- The City Health Office (CHO) has stopped providing free vaccines to animal bite patients beginning Friday due to the delay in the delivery of human rabies vaccines for the second quarter of the year.
Dr. Diana Rose Laput, rabies coordinator of CHO, said they were able to provide free vaccines only until Thursday and by Friday, new patients need to purchase from pharmacies on their own, or seek treatment from private physicians.
It is unclear when delivery would resume, Laput said, citing the Department of Health (DOH) memorandum dated Feb. 12, issued by Undersecretary Gerardo Bayugo of the Office of Technical Services.
The DOH, under its National Rabies Program, supplies free human rabies vaccines to its regional offices and animal bite treatment centers nationwide.
The department procures two types of intradermal rabies vaccines prequalified by the World Health Organization -- Rabipur and Verorab.
Rabipur is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in Ankleshwar, India.
However, GSK suspended the release of Rabipur worldwide after the Chinese government in April 2017, found the presence of bacterial residues of more than 25 international units in their allotted supply.
GSK Philippines then informed the DOH that such development will affect the delivery schedules of the procurement of Rabipur.
Gloria Parreño, nurse rabies coordinator of CHO, said that with the shortage of free human rabies vaccines, dog and cat owners should have their pets immunized for their own protection.
In the past year, the CHO treated more than 8,500 animal bite patients with vaccines provided by the DOH.
Parreño said that in 2017, they received a total of 5,375 vials -- 3,730 vials of Verorab and 1,645 vials of Rabipur.
She noted that each vial of Verorab can be used for two patients for intradermal injection while each 1 ml. vial of Rabipur is good for five patients.
A human rabies vaccine has a prevailing market price of about PHP1,500 for each vial.
Parreño said that in the first quarter, they treated 2,385 animal bite patients.
“We did not encounter problems last year, only for this second quarter. We have covered the first-quarter patients with Verorab provided by the DOH,” she added.
Parreño said that each animal bite victim should receive four doses of intradermal injections.
“The patient should receive the first three doses for protection. The fourth dose is optional. If the biting animal is alive, we can forego the fourth dose,” she said.
Parreño added that only patients who had already received the first and second doses can still avail of free vaccines on April 6 onwards or until they have completed their respective treatments. (PNA)
