SIBU: The Sarawak Veterinary Services Department (DVSS) has identified 67 rabies-risk areas in the state.
This scary fact was made known by the director, Dr Adrian Susin, who pointed out that one of the 67 is Sibu district.
“This is one of the rabies hotspots in the state,” he said in a statement.
Another scary development is that there were two latest victims of rabies infection in the state.
Following this, the department will carry on with its large-scale anti-rabies vaccination of dogs in Sibu district and other infected areas in the state.
Dr Adrian then advised all dog owners to have their pets vaccinated every year to prevent them from getting rabies and possibly infecting humans.
“Dog owners can bring their dogs to any veterinary office for their vaccination,” he said when asked last Saturday (Mar 13) about the number of rabies-infected areas in the state to date.
Regarding those who got bitten, he stressed that they must seek medical attention immediately inform the department about the dog in question so that it can be dealt with a soon as possible.
On a related matter, Malaysian Health Ministry director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah also stated last Saturday (Mar 13) that the number of rabies deaths in the state had increased to 31 after two men died recently in Kuching and Sibu.
“Both of these were the first positive cases of rabies involving humans in Malaysia in 2021.
The cumulative number of rabies cases in Sarawak since the rabies outbreak was declared in the state on July 1, 2017 now stands at 33 cases with 31 deaths.
