Animal Rabies Patterns in Central Luzon, Philippines and

Implications for Disease Control

Ronnie D. Domingo, Milagros R. Mananggit

Abstract
This study aimed to describe the animal rabies disease patterns in Central Luzon. Significant disease
patterns were related to the current control measures against animal rabies. Government laboratory records
in Central Luzon from 2002-2013 were used for this descriptive study. The twelve-year data compiled 9136
animal samples. The complete records of 2008-2013 showed that 89% of the samples came from dogs and
10% from cats but almost 98% of rabies cases were from dogs. Almost 40% of the rabid animals fall in the
1-4 mon age group. Incidence counts increase during the dry months of January to May. The animal rabies
incidence (cases/100,000 dogs) declined by almost 87% from 52 in 2002 to 7 in 2013. Based on the above
results, it is recommended that local rabies control officials consider the following issues: evaluation of the
minimum age of three weeks for puppy immunization, strategic implementation of disease control programs
from July to November before the months of high endemicity, adoption of a more sensitive disease detection
system, securing the provinces of Aurora, Zambales and Bataan to maintain their disease freedom,
prioritization of support to Bulacan for rabies control and verification of the actual dog population.

Key words: Central Luzon, dog, epidemiology, Philippines, rabies

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