MALASIQUI, March 22 -- he Department of Health (DOH) 1 (Ilocos Region) is urging individuals bitten by cats or dogs to immediately seek rabies vaccination to prevent a potentially fatal infection.

At a forum hosted by the Philippine Information Agency on Friday, DOH medical officer Dr. Rheuel Bobis stressed the importance of getting vaccinated within the 20- to 40-day incubation period.

He warned that once rabies symptoms appear, the infection becomes fatal and the vaccine is no longer effective.

"If vaccine was given after the incubation period with the presence of signs and symptoms, then it will no longer have an effect," he said, adding that the rabies vaccine is safe and proven effective in preventing death.

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