Resident’s Office holds meeting on rabies situation
KAPIT: A meeting on rabies disease was held here yesterday to find and implement appropriate measures to stop the spread of the deadly disease in this town and its surrounding areas.
It was a follow-up to a declaration by Sarawak State Disaster Management Committee on Sept 27 that Jalan Airport Lama here was among the five new areas in Sarawak that were rabiesinfested.
Deputy Resident Galong Luang chaired the meeting which was attended by administrative officers from the Resident’s and District Office, Kapit District Council ( KDC), Veterinary Department Kapit ( Kapit Agriculture Department), Kapit Health Department, other government departments and agencies, community leaders and leaders of associations in and around Kapit. He called upon them to explain to the public the rabies situation in Kapit and the remedial measures that needed to be taken.
He stressed that it is important to advise the public, especially dog and cat owners, to take all the precautionary measures and to report to the relevant authorities like the Veterinary Department and Kapit District Council if they came across dogs or cats that were infected.
“We want the public to be aware of the danger so that they would take all necessary precautionary measures,” said Galong.
He disclosed that recently KDC found out that all the six stray dogs caught tested positive for rabies.
“We are worried because this is 100 per cent,” he said.
He informed that the Veterinary Department would conduct vaccination on dogs and cats on Saturday (tomorrow) from 8am to 1pm at the Kapit Old Airport.
“I call on all dog owners to bring their dog for free vaccination.” At the same time, he advised dog owners to keep their dog either in the cage or within the house compound, saying KDC would soon carry out culling on stray dogs.