GEORGE TOWN, Oct 9 — Putrajaya needs to approve the proposed mass rabies vaccination programme by Mission Rabies as soon as possible to prevent future rabies outbreak, says non-governmental organisation Stop Killing Start Vaccinating (SKSV).

SKSV spokesperson Lim Li Lian said the federal government needed to expedite the import process of the 40,000 doses of rabies vaccines sponsored by World Veterinary Services and Mission Rabies.

“Mass vaccination must be conducted as soon as possible to create an immunity buffer that will prevent the spread of rabies,” she said during a press conference today, while lauding the state government’s decision to lift the culling order for stray dogs today.

She said the vaccine to be brought in is manufactured by Merck, and is already an approved vaccine that is sold in Malaysia.

“To bring the vaccines in immediately, we ask for the cooperation of the government, namely state and federal, to expedite the import process,” she said.

The next step of action in preventing future rabies outbreak is to implement the mass vaccination and also a surveillance and education programme, she added.

“Implementation of the Mission Rabies mass vaccination, surveillance and education programme is dependant on the Veterinary Services Department (DVS) and government’s official endorsement, which they have not yet given,” she said.

She hoped the DVS and the federal government will act quickly to protect the people by endorsing the Mission Rabies agreement and by expediting the import of the vaccines.

She also urged DVS and Putrajaya to immediately convene the first meeting for a newly set up Rabies Committee.

She said the safety and health of people in the northern states, particularly Kedah, Perlis and Penang, should be given top priority so the committee must convene its first meeting as soon as possible.

The three states were declared infected with rabies after rabies cases first surfaced in Perlis in August.

Penang enforced the rabies-infected area order 2015 on September 15 and ordered for mass culling of stray dogs in the state.

Today, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng lifted the order and culling of strays was called off.