KUCHING: The five-day anti-rabies operation in Padawan has been a success, says Padawan Municipal Council chairman Lo Khere Chiang.
In a post-mortem meeting on Tuesday with Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas and Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian, Lo said the operation was not only to catch stray dogs and cull them but also an effort to educate residents.
He urged the public to get their pets vaccinated and licenced.
He also urged them to stop spreading news of people dying from the bites of rabies-infected cats. “Some cats have been found positive with rabies but it’s mostly dogs which bite people.”
Seventeen people have died of rabies since the first case was discovered in June 2017. One survived and is comatose in his house. The whole state has been declared rabies zone except Limbang.
Uggah, who heads the disaster relief committee, had in February embarked on a major operation to remove strays off the streets as a resort to stop the spread of rabies.
He said then that such a drastic action needed to be taken to combat the increasing number of rabies-infected dogs in all districts, especially Kuching.
He had advised the public to keep their pets indoors during such operations as they would remove dogs wandering outside.
