Students pitch in for anti-rabies campaign

WITH a bite as nasty as its bark, anti-rabies control campaign here has breached through the school gates. In the realization that widest information education dissemination is the most effective pro-active means to rid of the fatal threat of rabid dog bites, the Provincial Anti-Rabies Control Council embraces the help of a parallel group of school-based youth advocates in the Bohol Rabies Scouters.

Rabies, a viral infection of animals that can be transmitted to humans is caused by a virus of the Rhabdoviridae family. It attacks the central nervous system with the virus excreted in the saliva of an infected animal. Rabies is almost always fatal once symptoms of infection appears on the victim. The danger of the virus has again threatened Bohol after it has attained about two years of zero-rabies status, says Dr. Jose F. Qiutazol, Department of Agriculture consultant who was here for the kick off activities.

However, with the recent lax implementation of quarantine laws and Bohol's coastal areas open to outside access, the threat has resurged recently, he added. That is why we need to enlist the most number of volunteers and community participation, institutionalize a mechanism for vigilance

The threat and the highly expensive cost of rabies vaccines available to bitten victims now pushed the students to pitch their hands in the information component of the program. “Scouters is an organization of about 25 students willing to unleash their creativity and enthusiasm to help usher in a rabies eradication program”, says Provincial Veterinarian Ma. Stella Lapiz.

They have a common vision of helping Bohol anti-rabies control program get barking. The only way the campaign could attain a similar nasty bite against the fatal threat is through a parallel information program, and in the scouters' mind, the students' way. Composed of employees' siblings from the Office of the Provincial Veterinarian and the Agriculturist, aside from peer campaigns in the schools, the group would be establishing rabies control centers and corners at their respective schools.

In these information boards, the local anti-rabies campaign programs are available to learners and parents who may be fetching their kids from school, says a 16 year old volunteer from one of the schools. We can distribute posters and flyers, maintain an anti-rabies bulletin board, post announcements, pass on information showbiz style and use the short message systems to spread the information, says another volunteer. The student volunteers come from Holy Spirit School , Holy Name University , Dr. Cecilio Putong National High School, Tagbilaran City Science High School and University of Bohol.

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