Uggah: Dog that bit Sarawak boy, 5, confirmed to have rabies

KUCHING, May 9 — The dog that bit a five-year-old boy from Taman Sanhill Barat, Sibu, here has tested positive for rabies, said Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (JPBN) chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas.

He said the Sarawak Veterinary Services Department (JPVS) had informed that the boy who had been bitten by his pet dog on May 25 had been reported to be in a stable condition and had received a rabies vaccine at Sibu Hospital.

“The test result on May 27, through the ‘Antigen Rapid Rabies Ag Test’ showed that the dog was rabies positive and samples from the dog was also sent to the State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory for the ‘Direct Fluorescent Antibody Technique’ (FAT) laboratory test,” he said at the committee’s daily press conference here today.

The first rabies outbreak in Sarawak was declared on July 1, 2017 has now entered its fourth year but it is still under control and since January 2020 to May 27, 2020, JPVS has received 1,254 notifications of animal bite cases comprising 81.9 per cent pets (cats and dogs) and 18.1 per cent wild animals.

Meanwhile, in a separate development, Uggah said he had directed all agencies and the Division Disaster Management Committee to be prepared to face the upcoming dry season to ensure that all logistics and human resources could be mobilised at any time.

“I also want to advise all Sarawakians to prepare for the drought with measures such as drinking enough water, reducing outdoor activities, avoiding open burning, do not throw cigarette butts in the bushes, wearing masks and storing sufficient water,” he said. — Bernama