Secretary of Health Francisco T. Duque III revealed that the Philippines ranked fifth among the highest incidence of rabies cases in the world in 2002 based on World Health Organization (WHO) data.

He said DoH data also revealed that it is during summer when rabies cases surge among children of school age.

Data from the DoH National Rabies Prevention and Control Program (NRPCP) showed that more than half of animal bite victims last year or about 64,450 persons were children 15-years-old and below.

The NRPCP also said that of the 113,379 victims of animal bites last year, 270 of them died due of rabies.

Rabies is a virus that can be passed on to humans through a bite from an infected animal. It attacks the central nervous system and is usually fatal.

Humans who become infected with rabies exhibit fever, nausea and vomiting, anorexia, headache, pain or numbness at bite site, hallucination, seizures, and paralysis that often lead to death.

Region 6 (Western Visayas) registered the highest number of rabies cases in the country with 39 followed by Central Luzon (Region 3) with 35 and Bicol (Region 5) with 30.

Central Visayas (Region 7) is fourth with 27 and Calabarzon (Region 4-A) is fifth with 23.

Duque advised victims of animal bites to immediately seek medical treatment and avoid traditional methods of treatment such as "tandok" as these may only worsen the victim’s predicament.

Tandok is a form of traditional treatment where a horn of a deer is placed over the bite. It is believed that it can suck the rabies virus.