SIBU, Nov 20 — More than 200 dogs were vaccinated yesterday in an effort to prevent the spread of rabies, which has killed 27 victims since its outbreak was declared in Sarawak on July 31, 2017.
The collaborative vaccination programme between the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) Sarawak and JKKK of Sg Sadit and JKKK of Tanjung Maling in Engkilo village received very good response from the villagers, said Wong Ung, the personal assistant to Temenggong Datuk Vincent Lau.
It was held at Sg Sadit from 9am till 3pm.
Wong said the Department of Veterinary Services would be organising more of such services here with the communities.
The campaign will move to SJKC Ting Sing at Sungai Bidut today to offer similar vaccination services for dogs.
He said he was there yesterday to supervise the event together with Kapitan Fung Tat Shen, Kapitan Lee Hui Shin and Kevin Lau, son of Temenggong Datuk Vincent Lau, who has been actively promoting the campaign for public health in Sibu.
The campaign yesterday was timely as fear of such infection has grown after a 34-year-old woman here became the latest to succumb to rabies.
According to the news report by dayon October 22, the victim was bitten by an infected dog and was admitted to Sibu Hospital on October 12 due to weakness in both legs for five days.
The victim died on October 18 at 11.30am and was diagnosed with rabies encephalitis.
She was confirmed to be infected by rabies virus through a lab test carried out by Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) on October 19, said Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
He said an investigation found that the area where the victim stayed was near a rubbish disposal site, where there were many free-roaming dogs.
Dr Noor Hisham said the victim had been bitten by her pet dog towards the end of 2018, and did not seek any medical attention.
The pet roamed freely and mixed with other animals, and had never been given anti-rabies vaccination, he added.
Dr Noor Hisham said the dog had been disposed of by members of the public after it bit another person.
However, no samples were sent to the Department of Veterinary Services Sarawak for confirmation of rabies infection on the dog concerned, he added. — Borneo Post Online
