Rabies: Health Ministry to step up cooperation with Sarawak government

KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry ( KKM) will be stepping up cooperation with the Sarawak government to fight rabies infection which has caused 15 deaths in the state so far.

Its deputy minister Dr Lee Boon Chye said this is important as many areas in Sarawak have been declared as rabies infected areas.

“We view the situation in Sarawak seriously as many divisions experienced rabies infection except Limbang,” he told reporters after launching the National Heart Institute ( IJN) - Permodalan Nasional Berhad ( PNB) Imaging Centre at IJN yesterday.

Dr Lee said there will be a KKM working visit to Sarawak next month in the effort to curb rabies cases and to see how far the dog vaccination exercise in the state has progressed.

“So far, the reports we received showed only one third of the animals in Sarawak have been vaccinated.

“Vaccination of dogs is not under KKM but the State Veterinary Services Department.

“Here the cooperation between the state Veterinary Department is important to ensure we control the rabies outbreak,” he said.

Imaging Centre is a RM30 million corporate social responsibility ( CSR) contribution by PNB.

It features new equipment called imaging Positron Emission Tomography- Computed Tomography or PET- CT which facilitates imaging for heart and cancer patients.

Meanwhile, IJN chief executive officer Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Azhari Yakub said the imaging facility, PET- CT is currently the most sophisticated equipment and it is the first in Malaysia. — Bernama