5 villages in Serian declared rabies-infected areas
The state government has declared the five villages in Serian affected by the rabies outbreak as rabies-infected areas by gazette notification under Section 37 of the Veterinary Public Health Ordinance 1999.
The five villages are Kampung Kerait, Kampung Paon Rimu, Kampung Paun Rimu Bakung, Kampung Remun and Kampung Lebor.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said he had also issued the Anti- Rabies Vaccination Order, mandating all household dogs in the infected areas and areas under surveillance within a 10km radius to be vaccinated with anti-rabies vaccine.
“We are sending our vaccination teams today (yesterday) to carry out the vaccinations initially inside the infected zones and thereafter, to the areas within the surveillance zones,” he told a press conference after chairing a State Disaster Management Committee meeting at Wisma Bapa Malaysia here yesterday.
He also noted that the state government is working closely with the Health Department, Depar tment of Veter inary Services, police, army, local authorities, district offices, private clinic veterinarians, Sarawak Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA), local communities and other relevant state and federal agencies to control and eventually eradicate the disease from the state.
Uggah, who is also the State Disaster Management Committee chairman, said at present, the rabies outbreak is contained within ground zero of the five villages.
“We have also extended the surveillance area to 10km from ground zero because we have been informed that when a dog is infected by rabies, it will die within three to nine days — its movement will be limited and so on,” he explained.
Asked if the committee had been able to pinpoint the source of the outbreak, he said they were still in the midst of studying the situation.
“Stray dogs may be the source but where they come from, that we are not certain of yet. Our Veterinary Department is conducting a count on the number of dogs and so on within ground zero.
“We will find out the main cause, but in the meantime, we are tightening our borders and have deployed the police and army to help us at the border to make sure there won’t be any transfer of dogs and cats from Kalimantan to Sarawak,” he assured.
Uggah said to ensure the success of this operation, he had called for the full cooperation from all dog owners to have their dogs vaccinated as soon as possible so that the rabies outbreak could be contained and eradicated in the shortest possible time.
“The public must take precaution when they come across any aggressive dog while walking around their villages and also advise their children to do the same.
“At the same time, they are also advised to keep their pet dog( s) within their compound so as to avoid their dog( s) from being infected,” he advised.
He also emphasised that if a person is bitten by a dog, he or she should be brought to the hospital immediately after the wound has been washed with soap.
“There are instances where such preventive measures can prevent fatalities and that is important,” he stressed, adding that further enquiries on the rabies outbreak can be made to the state Veterinary Services Department at 082- 612949 or 082- 611607.
Also present during the press conference were Welfare, Community Well being, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister Datuk Fatimah Abdul lah and state Health Department director Dr Jamilah Hashim.