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Children now in SGH ICU

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KUCHING: The three children who were bitten by dogs in Serian have been placed in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) here.

“A committee has been formed by the Veterinarian Department, local councils and Health Department and it is discussing how to contain the rabies,” said Minister of Local Government and Housing, Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian.

“The main priority is to prevent the disease from spreading,” he said before advising the people not to panick.

“Pay attention to your children’s behaviour, especially if they are scared of water as it is an obvious sign of rabies.

“If your children are bitten by any dog or show funny behaviour, bring them straight to the hospital. Our children may get bitten but do not tell us, so be wary,” said Sim.

He was interviewed during the Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house of the Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports, Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah held at Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) here yesterday.

Sim said that carriers of rabies also included rats and bats.
“Various non-governmental organisations (NGOs) such as the Sarawak Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals (SSPCA) will also be involved in the containment effort.

“We need to work together for this effort as containing an outbreak is not easy due to the continuous movements of people and dogs,” said Sim.

Meanwhile, Bernama reports that three children including two siblings in Serian District, Sarawak have been infected by Rabies.

Health Director-General, Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah in a statement on Friday said the Health Ministry received a report from the Sarawak Health Department after being notified by the Sarawak General Hospital on 22 June.

He said the victims aged four, six and seven years were initially thought to suffer from viral encephalitis and showed symptoms of fever, abnormal behaviour and aggression at times, and were afraid of water.

He said the children were warded at the intensive unit where two were put on oxygen.

Further investigation found that two of the victims had a history of being bitten by a dog about a month or two before manifestation of the symptoms while it could not be ascertained whether the third victim was ever bitten by a dog, he said.

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