It’s difficult to be rabies-free but the job has to be done
KUCHING: A lot has to be done for the state to be completely free of the rabies virus.
Sarawak Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) chairperson Rebecca D’Cruz said the task would be difficult but it must be done.
“For Sarawak to be declared rabies-free there should be no case of rabies reported in humans and animals for at least two years,” she told thesundaypost yesterday.
“Secondly, 70 per cent of dog population in areas where rabies was present must be vaccinated and this could be where the biggest challenge lies because we are talking about the entire Sarawak,” she said of the extensive work and efforts needed to eliminate the disease.
Rebecca was met at the mass rabies vaccination drive held at SJKC Sg Apong’s basketball court here.
As such, she revealed that a lot of manpower and resources would be required for Sarawak to be rabies-free.
“Shortage of manpower to conduct this mass vaccination of dogs is the biggest challenge. The veterinarians are working flat out
For Sarawak to be declared rabies-free there should be no case of rabies reported in humans and animals for at least two years. — Rebecca D’Cruz, Sarawak Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) chairperson
since the outbreak,” she said.
More importantly, Rebecca emphasised that setting up a 50kilometre immune belt to protect the borders is extremely crucial to restrict the free movement of dogs.
“Control and surveillance are critical components to eradicate the disease. Most of the animal welfare groups are urban based so we need to get the farm people involved as much as possible because the animals are more familiar with them.
“Also, proactive mass dog vaccination is effective at controlling rabies instead of killing all the strays,” she added.
Rebecca observed that the situation in Sarawak is still under control so there is no need to panic.
“We do not want people to hurt animals due to the outbreak. We are also monitoring the social media posts to get rid of the negative content from SSPCA page that may cause the public to panic for no reason,” she said.
As for public concern about their areas’ strays which may not have been vaccinated, Rebecca said they have asked the community to be the eyes and ears.
“The public can report to the Veterinary Department if they notice any changes in the behaviour or symptoms of rabies on the dogs,” she said.
“Everyone needs to play a role towards ensuring Sarawak is rabies free and we are working with a global network of people to address this issue. This is our common vision and we don’t want rabies to come back to Sarawak,” she added.
Earlier on, Minister of Local Government and Housing Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian together with chiefs and members of Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) visited the site of the mass vaccination drive.