Manila, March 19 -- Government health authorities have reminded the public anew of the need to have their pet dogs and cats vaccinated to prevent deaths from rabies.

In a forum aired over social media on Wednesday, Dr. Vladdy Natasha Cruz from the department of community medicine of the Department of Health (DOH)-managed Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC), said that "100 percent of rabies bites can cause deaths but it is also 100 percent preventable".

She said that animals must be annually vaccinated against rabies, as well as people who are bitten or wounded by a possibly rabid animal.

"We do not recommend the traditional way of removing rabies which they call 'tandok' but we highly recommend vaccination of both the ...