The spread of rabies must be contained or many more people will die: Vet
KUCHING: The authorities are ready to do the unpopular to curb the spread of rabies.
Senior Veterinary Officer with the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) Sarawak, Dr Nicholas Jenek said the public may not like the measures that will be taken but it’s either the pets or more people will die of the disease.
“If the rabies threat is not taken seriously, many more people will die,” Dr Nicholas told a Rabies Awareness Programme held at the MBKS Auditorium here yesterday.
According to Dr Nicholas it is estimated that if the spread is not contained, there will be 70,000 victims or one person will die every 10 minutes.
“This is because once a person is bitten by a rabies-infected dog, there’s a 99.9 per cent fatality rate,” he said.
He further said rabies attacks the human brain, hence there will be loss of memories or amnesia before death arrives.
Dr Nicholas stressed that public support is important to ensure no more rabies-related deaths occur or pets let loose and strays must go.
“The authorities need public support and understanding if we are to effectively contain the disease. We need your understanding in the event we need to take drastic measures that may not be popular.
“Let’s be clear about it, we are near to where we have to think more about saving human lives,” Dr Nicholas said, adding pet lovers better think seriously about keeping their pets properly housed or penned and to get them vaccinated.
Meanwhile, Dr Muhammad Danial Salim from the Sarawak Health Department said that the threat was real and needed to be curbed.
“Actually, there is a problem with human rabies vaccines worldwide in terms of production … there aren’t enough vaccines even if we have the money to buy them.
“However, rabies vaccines for dogs are mass-produced. But in order to get the supplies, we need to reach out to Putrajaya. The problem is we cannot verify the number of dogs in Sarawak,” he said.
Muhammad also said that last week, 120 bite cases were recorded in Kuching.
“Based on the statistics, from April 7-13, there were around 1,529 recorded bite cases. We need the public to be aware of how rabies infects humans and what to do if they are bitten.
“I also urge pet owners to be responsible for their pets and to vaccinate and neuter the animals,” he added.
