Rabies cases in Kuching, Bintulu.
Sarawak’s Minister of Food Industry, Primary Industries, and Regional Development Datuk Seri Stephen Lundy has announced that the authorities have classified two districts, Kuching and Bintulu, as rabies-infected areas due to confirmed disease cases.
In a press release issued today, he said that authorities took a total of 16 samples for animal bites during the testing, of which 12 were confirmed rabies-positive, with the highest number of samples being eight from Kuching, followed by two from Bintulu, and one each from Padawan and Shillong Gate.
“To make matters worse, all the dogs from which samples were taken were free-roaming and not vaccinated against rabies. Therefore, I would like to remind the public to be extra careful and always visit a clinic immediately if they are bitten by an animal.”
Stephan Lundy today also signed the Anti-Rabies Vaccination Order under Section 40(1) of the Veterinary Public Health Ordinance 1999, which requires all dogs within Sarawak to be vaccinated with an anti-rabies vaccine and an annual booster.
“Dog owners must ensure that their pets are vaccinated against rabies and any dog owner or person in charge who fails to comply will be fined up to RM2,500.”
He said dogs that have been infected with rabies will be euthanized if there is no proof of proper vaccination.
According to the records of the Sarawak Health Ministry, there were 18 cases of human rabies infection last year and 16 people have died. So far in July 2017, there have been 73 cases of human rabies infection and 66 people have died.
