KUCHING, Jan 25 — Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah today said that the rabies outbreak in Sarawak has been upgraded to Level Two following the death of 16 people and the declaration of 61 areas as rabies-affected.
He said the outbreak has been declared a Level Two Disaster under the State Disaster Management Committee, further escalating the measures taken to control the spread of the disease.
He said the decision was made as more than one district have been declared as rabies-affected and required the supervision and resources of the state government, but with limited assistance from the federal government.
“Only Limbang district is free of rabies,” he said after a meeting with the Deputy Minister of Health Dr Lee Boon Chye, here.
As chairman of the state disaster management committee, Uggah said he will be mobilising all the relevant government departments, including the police and Fire and Rescue Department, in the fight to curb the spread of rabies.
Uggah warned members of the public not to let their pets to roam outside their gates and to not bring out their pets from the affected areas without the written approval from the state Veterinary Authority.
“Anyone found to have contravened Section 37(2) and (3) of the Veterinary (Public Health) Ordinance 1999 is liable to a fine up to RM5,000 or imprisonment of up to three months or both upon conviction,” he said.
He said 110,435 out of 225,000 dog population in the state have been vaccinated since the rabies outbreak in July 2017.
He said four out of six blood samples taken from the dogs two days ago have been found to be positive with the rabies virus.
He said the samples were taken at the Similaju Industrial area in Bintulu and Kampug Grogo, Kampung Sebuluh, and Kampung Bobak Singai, all in Bau district.
He said 949 samples, including 861 taken from the dogs and 81 from the cats, have been taken by the State Veterinary Authority.
“Out of the total samples, 338 of them, consisting of 315 from the dogs and 23 from the cats, were found to be positive with the rabies virus,” he said.
Uggah said 14,030 dogs have been rounded up in Kuching, Serian, Sri Aman, Samarahan, Betong and Sarikei Divisions during an inter-agency operation led by the state Ministry of Local Government and Housing.
