Report on Owned Dog Population Survey in Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines

The Philippines has consistently been one of the top countries with an existing rabies problem. There is an average of 200 human rabies deaths reported annually, the majority of which are caused by dog bites (Deray, 2015). Globally, more than 95% of human rabies cases have been reported to have domestic dogs as their sources of infection (Cleaveland, et al., 2006). Therefore, it is paramount to address the rabies problem by focusing on the source. It has been established that communities achieve at least 70% vaccination coverage of the dog population to eliminate canine rabies (WHO, 2015) and maintain the population immunity above critical levels for at least a year, and this in turn, interrupts the transmission of rabies (Coleman & Dye, 1996; Cleaveland, et al., 2003; Hampson, et al., 2009; Morters, et al., 2013)