Sarawak disaster committee to review state’s efforts to curb rabies
KUCHING, May 12 — Sarawak Deputy Premier Datuk Douglas Uggah will be calling a meeting with the state Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) for a review of efforts to control the spread of rabies amid reports of new cases.
He said these include the ongoing vaccination programme on dogs and cats.
“I was informed yesterday that about 70 per cent of the dog population along the border areas with Kalimantan have been vaccinated.
“The meeting will also review this matter as well,” Uggah, who is also SDMC chairman, told reporters after attending a briefing on the construction of the Unit for Other Religion charitable trust complex at Jalan Ong Tiang Swee here.
He said the state Veterinary Services Department and the state Ministry of Public Health, Housing and Local Government are the main agencies responsible for the dog vaccination programme in the state.
Uggah said the rabies situation in Sarawak is still under control, saying that the public should not overreact to “a small number of dog bite incidents”.
He advised those who have been bitten by dogs or cats to immediately seek treatment at the government hospital free of charge.
He said the chances of survival is 99 per cent if early treatment is sought for those who have been bitten by a rabid dog.
“The other day my wife had to go for immediate treatment after she was scratched by a cat,” Uggah said.
He said she was given four doses of anti-rabies jabs. He noticed some dog victims only sought treatment after they became unwell.
Second Deputy Premier and state Minister of Public Health, Housing and Local Government Professor Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian, who was also present at the press conference, confirmed that a 50-year-old man from Kampung Bumbok, Jalan Batu Kitang-Bau, died yesterday after he was bitten by a stray dog on April 3.
Dr Sim said the man died at the Sarawak General Hospital here. He said the latest death raised to “more than eight” the number of persons who have died of rabies in Sarawak this year.
