DA Albay launches rabies surveillance app

• Source: http://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1006276
• Wednesday, April 4, 2018

By Sally Atento-Altea (SAA/PIA5/Albay)

LEGAZPI CITY (PIA) -- The Department of Agriculture (DA) Albay provincial office has launched the Bite Incidence Tool for Enhanced Rabies Surveillance (BITERS) mobile-based application (app) as part of the intensified effort to eliminate rabies.

According to DA Bicol information officer II Jayson M. Gonzales, this app is part of the project of DA-Bureau of Animal Industry (DA-BAI) in collaboration with DA Bicol and LGU Albay entitled “Technology Development to Improve Surveillance and Reduce the Human Health Impact of Rabies in Dogs in the Philippines”.

"This app will also fast-track the practical linking of government to the community especially to the victim regarding rabies and its prevention," Gonzales said.

He said that the project, in general, was implemented on November 2, 2017 in three Animal Bite Treatment Centers (ABTCs). These are the Bicol Regional Training and Teaching Hospital (BRTTH) in Legazpi City, Josefina Belmonte Duran Memorial District Hospital (JBDMDH) in Ligao City and Ziga Memorial District Hospital (ZMDH) in Tabaco City.

The project deployed three Animal and Medical Health Personnel (BITERS team) in the ABTCs who will gather details and information needed to monitor and give corresponding diagnoses to both the victim and the biting dog.

"After 14 days, the BITERS team will follow-up the patient regarding the condition of the animal and the result of the laboratory samples," Gonzales said.

He noted that the BITERS app will then be used to record and interpret the surveillance data to facilitate follow-upsf suspect bite incidents and promptly detect rabid dogs.

In support to this project, the DA-Regional Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in Cabangan, Camalig, Albay offers free laboratory tests until 2020.