If you are a dog lover, now is not the time for you to adopt puppies or dogs in Sarawak. There is currently a rabies outbreak in the state and since the epidemic was declared on June 30, 2017, the disease has so far claimed 15 human lives.
A 64-year-old cook from Matang in Kuching Chung Jee Hiong was the latest human victim. He died in the morning of December 11, 2018 after being warded in the Intensive Care Unit of the Sarawak General Hospital (SGH).
It was learnt that the cook and his wife had adopted a puppy in September this year. A week later, after the puppy bit both of them, Chung and his wife abandoned the animal somewhere in Matang.
The couple had simply washed their wounds with water without seeking any treatment at any medical facility. They only went to a private clinic on Nov 27 after complaining of serious pain in the knees and feeling weak in the lower part of their bodies.
During the visit to the private clinic, the couple did not reveal they had been bitten by a puppy. Chung was referred to the SGH after his health deteriorated. He only revealed that he and his wife had been bitten by a puppy when he was admitted to the SGH on Dec 2. His wife was promptly given an anti-rabies vaccination.
Many questions came to my mind when I read about the story of the couple and the puppy.
The story said they had adopted a puppy. Did they get the puppy from a friend or did they pick it up from a street? If they had adopted a puppy given by a friend, where did the friend live? In Matang? Was the puppy part of a big litter and how did the puppy become infected with rabies? Where are the mother dog and father dog? Are they also infected?
If the puppy was abandoned somewhere in Matang, is it still there? Has it affected other puppies or dogs in the area?
Many puppies are cute and hence, irrestible to many animal lovers. Who would have thought that a cute puppy could bring death?
When the epidemic first started in Sarawak, the public were warned not to pick up any stray dogs or puppies from the streets because of the fear that they might be infected by rabies. I forgot who issued the warning. I think many members of the public are unaware that cute stray puppies or dogs from the streets can cause deaths if they are infected with rabies and go on to bite humans.
Since the rabies epidemic was declared on June 30, 2017, free mass rabies vaccination exercises have been conducted in many parts of the state. Pet dogs in rabies-infected areas are also not allowed to roam freely and must be vaccinated. Operations were also carried out to remove roaming dogs in certain areas.
The state authorities also made it an offence for dogs to be brought out of a rabies-infected area without the written permission of the State Veterinary Authority.
The state disaster management committee has reminded dog owners to have their pets vaccinated against rabies and to call the nearest veterinary office if their pets show signs of the disease, such as turning aggressive, biting objects, excessive salivation and lack of coordination.
The Veterinary Services Department and Health Department have reminded the public that in the event of a dog bite, the wound should be washed with soap and running water for at least 15 minutes.
Despite the free mass rabies vaccination exercises, advices by the state disaster management committee and the anti rabies strategies, the rabies death toll continues to rise.
As pointed out by Kota Samarahan Municipal Council chairman (walikota) Datuk Peter Minos, the situation is indeed getting scary.
Since much time, effort and money have been spent by the relevant authorities but to no avail, Minos suggests that if what the state government is doing right now cannot put a stop to the spread of rabies, then, perhaps it is time for it to resort to drastic actions like killing all the stray dogs that freely roam the streets and villages in the rabiies-affected areas.
Drastic actions like this are hard for animal lovers to accept. Will they strongly protest if the order is out to kill all the stray dogs in the streets and villages?
Up to December 12, 2018, the state government has gazetted 56 areas in 11 divisions as riabies-infected; only Limbang Division is rabies free. It will be interesting to find out why Limbang is rabies free so far. Maybe there are valuable lessons that it can share with the other divisions.
Rabies causes tens of thousands of human deaths every year, mostly in Asia and Africa.The disease, which is passed on to humans from infected animals, is almost always fatal. However, humans can be vaccinated against the virus.
In March this year, Thailand was also rushing to contain the spread of rabies after an increase in cases in the country. There, dogs were found to be the main carriers of the disease, followed by cows and cats. The Department of Livestock Development blamed the spike in cases on pet owners’ failure to vaccinate their animals.
I wonder what the rabies situation in Thailand now is. Has the country successfully put a stop to the spread of the disease? Maybe there are lessons that Sarawak can learn from Thailand.
In June this year, United Against Rabies, a collaboration of four partners namely, the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC) – launched a strategic plan that provided a phased, all-inclusive, intersectoral approach to eliminate human deaths from rabies. No doubt, our state government will find the strategic plan valuable in its fight against rabies.
It is hoped that the government will seek the advices of other nations, review the steps taken so far, explore all avenues and adopt new measures In its efforts to stop the spread of rabies in Sarawak as soon as possible.
