Vaccine baits latest strategy to fight rabies

KUCHING: The Veterinary Department of Malaysia is in the process of acquiring vaccine baits as the latest strategy to give antirabies vaccine to stray dogs.

Its director-general Dato Dr Quaza Nizamuddin Hassan Nizar said the strategy would involve feeding the stray dogs with vaccine-laced baits.

"We want to use this in areas with many stray dogs and those hard-to-go-to areas.

"We will use it alongside existing strategies in the ongoing anti rabies operation.

"We are already in the process of buying these vaccine baits," he said during a courtesy call on Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah at his office here yesterday.

Dr Quaza said the department would then conduct a study to see its impacts, how it could affect the dog immunisation and so forth.

He said Sarawak was doing well in combating the rabies outbreak.

He assured of continued support from his department in the fight against rabies.

Dr Quaza also praised the state for its ongoing plan to aggresively increase cattle population to boost beef production.

He described this as 'a step in the right direction and the way to move forward'.

Uggah, who is also the Minister of Agriculture Modernisation, Native Land and Regional

Development had earlier explained to him of the plan.

"We still have plenty of land and there is always huge demand for meat. Sarawak is also free from the Foot and Mouth Diease.

"We are getting our land development authorities like Sarawak Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority (Salcra) and big oil palm companies like Ta Ann, Rimbunan Hijau and Dafa to integrate cattle breeding in their plantations," he said.