KUCHING: The Sarawak government estimates that around 60,000 dogs in the state need to be vaccinated to curb the spread of rabies.
Deputy Premier Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian said thus far, only 4,700 dogs had been vaccinated, leaving another 55,000 dogs to be vaccinated.
“I believe that when members of the community work together, we can get all 60,000 dogs vaccinated.
“Each of us needs to play our role. When we do that, we will no longer panic about rabies cases in the state,” he said during the Rabies Aware Public Forum at Kuching South City Council (MBKS) Auditorium here today (May 26).
Dr Sim also disclosed that the Sarawak Security and Enforcement Unit (UKPS) had managed to vaccinate 73.8 per cent of the dogs in the border areas.
“Since we have managed to control the border areas well, we are now concerned about the dogs in the state.
“Since the World Health Organisation (WHO) aims to eliminate dog-mediated rabies by 2030, we need to step up and deal with this issue regardless of whether we are in the rural or urban areas.
“Each of us has a role to make in realising this aim together,” he stressed.
For the record, in 2017, 42,000 dogs were successfully vaccinated, followed by 66,000 dogs in 2018; 50,000 dogs in 2019; 14,000 dogs in 2021; 12,000 dogs in 2022 and 4,700 dogs in 2023.
