KUCHING: Community leaders are urged to stay alert and monitor areas where stray dogs often roam and report this to the authorities, stressed Samarahan district officer Mohd Ainnie Wahab.
According to him, information provided by them will be used by anti-rabies teams to carry out operations to catch the dogs in the Samarahan division on April 10 to 14.
“All appointed community leaders will help us to identify the areas (in village, residential areas or farms) where stray dogs are often roaming,” he said in a rabies awareness programme organised by the Sarawak Information Department at Dewan Suarah Samarahan in Kota Samarahan today.
Earlier, Samarahan Epidemiology officer Dr Mohd Khairul Anuar Roselan urged the villagers to inform the veterinarian if their pets, whether dog or cat, have any rabies-related symptoms.
“Individuals who are bitten by dogs or cats should wash their wounds with soap and clean water at least 15 minutes before getting immediate treatment at the clinic,” he added.
Meanwhile Samarahan veterinary assistant officer Parag Kaweh also called on the villagers to give full cooperation to the veterinarian in any rabies operation.
“Pets need to be vaccinated once a year even though they have never been out of the house,” he stressed.
For the record, the Samarahan division has recorded 130 bites involving dogs and cats throughout 2019.
