Posted on Aug 31, 2021 by FETPAFI
On February 7-8 and 10-11, 2020, human and animal health workers representing 15 municipalities and animal bite treatment centers attended a two-day seminar in Sato Hotel, Odiongan (Tablas Island) and Hotel Plaza, Romblon (Romblon Island), respectively. The trainings were conducted in collaboration with the Provincial Health Office and the Provincial Veterinary Office.
Lectures were shared by speakers from FETPAFI, University of Glasgow and RITM; resource speakers included Dr. Jobin Maestro (Municipal Health Officer of Alcantara) and Dr. Ian Rhey Buluag (Municipal Health Officer of San Jose, Carabao Island). Among the topics discussed were the status of rabies surveillance in the Philippines, national guidelines for rabies prevention and control, and the process of conducting risk assessments and animal investigations. Group activities and discussions helped establish working relationships between human health with their animal health counterparts.
After completing the training, participants were each given a certificate of attendance and copies of the lecture materials. Animal sample collection and investigation kits were also distributed per municipality to enable municipal agricultural office workers to conduct animal investigations and collect timely and appropriate samples for laboratory confirmation of rabies.
Background note: SPEEDIER is a 3-year project of FETPAFI in collaboration with University of Glasgow and the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, funded jointly by the DOST-Philippine Council for Health Research and Development, and the UK Medical Research Council. This study being implemented in the provinces of Romblon and Oriental Mindoro, aims to deliver a cost-effective, epidemiologically robust, enhanced surveillance and response package to guide and sustain the elimination of RABIES from the Philippines.