Rabies claims fifth victim in Sarawak

KUCHING: Veterinary authorities in Sarawak are stepping up efforts to vaccinate as many dogs as possible to control the rabies outbreak, with 20 areas in Serian, Sri Aman and Kuching declared rabies-infected so far.

The outbreak claimed its fifth victim when 52-year-old Tinding Lambang from Kampung Remun, Serian, died at 10.43pm on Sunday.

Health Ministry director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the cause of death was rabies with underlying pulmonary tuberculosis.

Tinding was bitten by a dog in early May and admitted to the Sarawak General Hospital on July 11 after suffering weak limbs, numbness, backache and confusion.

Dr Noor Hisham said five human rabies cases had been reported in Sarawak as of yesterday, all of which have resulted in fatalities. Currently no new case has been reported.

There was a large turnout at the latest free dog vaccination campaign at the Kota Sentosa basketball stadium here yesterday.

“I think the outbreak is getting more serious. The Government is doing a good job in providing vaccination for dogs," said salesman Liew Thaw Yih, who brought his three dogs to be vaccinated.

Although he is from the Pending area in Kuching, which is not affected, he said he did not want to take any chances.

“I'm worried about the situation. I love dogs and before this I never worried about getting bitten, but now if I see a dog I don't dare to go near it,” he added.

State Veterinary Services Department (DVS) officer Dr Sylmie Al-Harir said five teams were involved in the campaign with 2,000 doses of vaccine.

“If the vaccine runs low, we will bring some more from our stock in the lab. Our target is to cover as many dogs as we can,” she said.

According to Dr Sylmie, favourable response from the public showed that they were aware of the importance of getting their dogs vaccinated.

“There are even some people who bring in stray dogs for vaccination. After that, those dogs will be registered and given a tag,” she said.

Save Our Strays (SOS) volunteer Andy Teo said vaccination was the most effective way to curb the outbreak.

Teo said SOS was working with the Sarawak Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) and DVS to vaccinate stray dogs in and around Kuching city up to Siburan.

He said vaccinated strays were given a blue, red or green PVC chain collar and had their foreheads marked with a red stain.