KUCHING: The state’s latest rabies-related death earlier in the week shows why victims of dog bites must get immediate treatment from the experts.
In a rather sad development, 21-year-old Nyalau Nyamal would still be alive today if he had not been too secretive about having been bitten by a dog.
Nyalau did not tell anyone he was bitten by a dog in September at his work place in Batu Kitang.
He did not go for treatment; all he did was buy some medicine from a pharmacy to treat his wounds.
Then in mid-November he suffered from pain in his lower back. But instead of telling about being bitten, he told his family that he fell down.
It was only when his condition deteriorated and he was sent to the Sarawak General Hospital that he finally admitted he was bitten by a stray dog.
Nyalau, the eldest of four siblings, succumbed to the disease late Tuesday.
Since the rabies outbreak in June last year, the disease has claimed 14 lives. Over 60 areas in Sarawak have been declared rabies infected.
In a related development, Sarawak Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) will soon forward a budget proposal to the state government to focus on anti-rabies vaccinations by region.
This was disclosed by SSPCA president Datin Dona Drury, when asked about the progress of the government’s vaccination programme.
“We support the government’s vaccination efforts and have discussed concentrating vaccinations by region with the relevant officials.
“For example, get all the teams to work in the northern region first then once they have vaccinated 70 per cent of the dog population there then they would move to the next region and so on. This will be a more effective strategy,” she said.
The budget proposal is expected to be submitted to Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas and Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian before Christmas.
Asked regarding the statistics on rabies cases, Dona said they could not ascertain the overall number of rabid animals because only those that had bitten someone were sent for testing.
As of Dec 2, 98,158 dogs have been vaccinated as recorded through the vaccination programme.
This figure was posted by the Sarawak State Disaster Management Committee on their website recently.
Besides dogs, the number of cats that have been vaccinated is 8,508.
On average 6,277 animals were vaccinated in a month.
