KUCHING : Chiew Yong Teng, 74, is spending sleepless nights and has lost his appetite after he was bitten by a dog and admitted to the Sarawak General Hospital. Chiew, who was discharged from hospital three days ago, is still worried about his leg which was bitten by a dog. It remains red, swollen and numb. On August 28 at about 4 pm, Chiew, who stayed in Stapok, cycled to meet his son who ran a business at Lorong 3, Metro Park. Suddenly, a dog came out of a house and bit him on his right leg.
Chiew was immediately sent to the Sarawak General Hospital and admitted to the hospital. According to him, when he was in the hospital, the toilets were crowded not because people were answering nature calls but because many people were inside cleaning up their dog wounds. Chiew said many people were bitten by dogs daily. He said he found out that the dog which bit him was not a stray dog but a pet dog that could roam around.
Although he was not diabetic, Chiew s a i d h i s wounds f a i l ed to he a l . He said the medical staff released him but could not guarantee his well being. “I was told that out of 1000 persons who were bitten, two will die. Will I be one of them?” he asked.
When he was admitted to the Sarawak General Hospital, he was given nine jabs. He was asked to receive follow-up care in October. “Now I live in fear. I wonder if I am infected with rabies. The doctor said if my swelling did not go away, I might even have to go for an operation on my leg,” he said. What hurts Chiew the most is that after he was discharged, some of his relatives and friends are staying away from him. “I am now treated like I am an infected person.
It is very sad,” he said. Chiew urged the authorities to get rid of all stray dogs in Kuching. He also hoped that the authorities could tell him if the dog that bit him had rabies. He said the dog was caught and that when that dog dashed out of the house, there were three other dogs there. Chiew also wanted the authorities to take action against the dog owners.
He said everyone had to be responsible for their pets.
State Assemblyman for Batu Kitang, Lo Khere Chiang said he was sad and concerned about Chiew’s welfare. “It is very unfortunate. I read that 50,000 people die from rabies annually in the world.
We all have to be responsible when we own pets. We should not encourage a “st ray cul ture” where dogs are allowed to be released into the streets to look for food and rely on kind people to feed them.
This will not augur well for our environment and tourism,” he said. Lo said a friend had told him that her dog was locked in the house after the rabies outbreak. However, a stray dog came and bit the dog on the nose, causing it to bleed.
Worried, the dog owner locked the dog in a cage and monitored its health. She was shocked when the dog died a week later.
She said she vaccinated her dog every year.
The dead dog was not brought to a veterinarian for an examination. L o u r g e d everyone to be on alert and not to take risks in view of the rabies outbreak.
So far, 13 people have died after being infected by rabies. The first case occurred in June last year.
