KUCHING: Another death has been claimed by rabies, raising the number of people who have died from the disease in the State to eight since June 30 last year. In a press statement issued by the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee Secretariat, the latest casualty was an 11-year-old boy from Kampung Sebangkoi, Simunjan in Samarahan.
The pupil of a national school in Simunjan showed symptoms of the disease, such as pain and weakness in the right arm and vomiting on April 18 and his parents took him to a clinic and the Serian Hospital the following day. “His condition became worse and on April 22 he had a seizure. The following day, he was referred to the Sarawak General Hospital.
A clinical sample was sent to the Institute for Medical Research in Kuala Lumpur on May 2 and it was confirmed to be rabies positive. “His condition worsened and he died on May 3 at 12.06 pm. The cause of death was confirmed as Rabies Encephalitis,” it added.
As of May 2, the State government has declared 30 areas in five divisions as rabies-infected, namely Serian (21 areas), Kuching (four), Samarahan (three), Sri Aman (one) and Sarikei (one). So far this year, only one case of rabies in humans was reported, of a seven-year-old boy in Kampung Kuala, Serian. The boy is still in a coma.
