00:00Tandok is not an effective rabies treatment, health authorities say, and urge the public
00:06to seek medical treatment when bitten by animals instead.
00:09Diane Gurimbalem from Public Information Agency, Mimaropa, tells us more.
00:16The Provincial Health Office, or PHO, warned the public about the danger of opting for
00:21tandok treatment for animal bites. In 2024, two deaths caused by rabies have been recorded by
00:28the PHO. The patients sought treatment from tandok, a traditional method of extracting
00:34rabies from a wound using animal corns. He added that those deaths would have been
00:48preventable if they had sought proper treatment from an animal bite center.
00:53TRIA reminded the public that rabies is deadly and should not be taken for granted,
00:58and advised that if bitten or scratched by an animal such as a dog or cat,
01:03immediately wash the wound with clean running water and soap for 10 to 15 minutes.
01:08In 2024, the PHO recorded 21,433 animal bite cases in the province,
01:26exhibiting a 61% increase compared to the data in 2023. In response, the local government,
01:34in partnership with the Surveillance Integrating Phylogenetics and Epidemiology for Elimination of
01:40Disease, or SPEDIR, conducted in January this year an integrated bite case management
01:46introductory training to capacitate frontliners in the province.
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