PHO opens bite treatment center at Iloilo Capitol

By Mariela Angella Oladive

Aiming to provide accessible vaccination and bite management services, the Iloilo Provincial Health Office (PHO) has opened its Animal Bite Treatment Center (ABTC) at the Provincial Capitol.

Located on the second floor of the PHO Primary Care Clinic along Bonifacio Drive, the center began soft operations on Sept. 23 by serving 30 patients on a first-come, first-served basis.

For the initial rollout, services were limited to Iloilo Provincial Government (IPG) employees, their families, and relatives.

The ABTC offers treatment for animal bites and scratches, anti-rabies vaccination, rabies immunoglobulin (RIG) infiltration, tetanus vaccination, and medical consultation.

It operates from 8 a.m. to 12 noon on weekdays.

Patients must bring their PhilHealth Member Data Record (MDR) form, while those from Iloilo Province are required to present referral forms from their Rural Health Units (RHUs) or district hospitals.

PHO emphasized the provincial government’s commitment to strengthening rabies prevention efforts and ensuring timely treatment for bite victims.

Coinciding with World Rabies Day on Sept. 28, PHO head Dr. Maria Socorro C. Quiñon highlighted the need for unified action to prevent rabies.

“The law is here, the services are here, but they will mean nothing unless leaders, health workers, pet owners, families, and individuals take them seriously,” she said.

“On World Rabies Day, we commit to no more preventable deaths, no more families grieving, no more lives lost to rabies. Let us end with one call: Wash the bite, vaccinate, save a life,” she added.

The ABTC is expected to expand its services to the general public once it transitions from soft opening to full operations.