3-year-old foreigner latest rabies case recorded in Sarawak

KUCHING: Sarawak recorded another rabies victim after a three-year- old foreigner was confirmed to be infected with the rabies virus by the Ministry of Health yesterday.

Its director general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said this latest case was from Kampung Sandong here, bringing the total number of confirmed human rabies cases to four this year.

“Our investigation found that the child had been bitten by a stray dog while staying at Kampung Sandong in early April 2018. He was brought to a nearby government health clinic where the bite wound was cleaned; he was given an anti- tetanus ( ATT) shot and was advised to seek further treatment at a health facility,” he said in a statement yesterday.

However, he pointed out, the victim, who had arrived in Kuching with his mother in September last year using social visit pass, was brought by his family to the Sarawak General Hospital ( SGH) Emergency and Trauma Department on May 3 after having fever for five days and showing signs of anxiety and confusion.

“He was immediately admitted to the children’s ward where he began to show clinical signs of rabies such as hydrophobia and difficulty in swallowing.

“The clinical samples of the case were sent to the Medical Research Institute on May 8 and was confirmed to be rabies positive,” he remarked.

Since the announcement of the rabies outbreak in Sarawak on July 1 last year, the state has recorded a total of ten rabies cases among humans.

Of these, the disease claimed eight lives while one case has been discharged from the hospital with the victim being treated at home.

“The victim from this latest case is currently in critical condition at SGH,” said Dr Noor Hisham.

As of May 8, 30 areas in five divisions across the state have been declared as rabies infected areas by the state government. They are Serian ( 21 areas), Kuching ( four areas), Samarahan ( three areas), Sri Aman ( one) and Sarikei (one).

“The Ministry of Health wishes to reiterate that the success of preventing rabies infection in humans is largely dependent on the success of controlling rabies among dogs.

“This means that the people also need to play a role in bringing their pets to be vaccinated and not to feed wild dogs,” he said, adding that the most important preventive measure is to avoid being bitten by stray dogs or animals as their health status is unknown.

He assured that the ministry together with the State Health Department will continue to enhance its cooperation with the state government, Veterinary Services Department and other agencies to ensure that preventive and control measures against rabies virus infection can be comprehensively implemented.