Dr Adrian (left) presents Dr Rundi with a token of appreciation as Edwin looks on. – Photo by Roystein Emmor
KUCHING (Sept 27): The deployment of the Immune Belt Enforcement Team (IBET) to areas along the Sarawak-Kalimantan border would enable the state to obtain a figure on the dog population there for rabies vaccination purposes among others, said Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom.
The Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development Minister said that at the same time, this would also raise awareness of Sarawak’s rabies situation among residents living in those areas.
“Alarmingly, despite the situation we are in, if we were to go to the interiors of Sarawak, not many people are aware of this problem.
“So if a dog infected with rabies were to enter the interiors, that is where our concern is,” he told a press conference after officiating the Rabies In Borneo (RIB) Conference here today.
He said it is for this reason that IBET was formed so as to ensure that the people, particularly those in rural and interior areas, are aware of the presence of rabies in Sarawak.
“It is very important for us to be able to reach them before the virus reaches them,” he added.
Meanwhile, Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) Sarawak director Dr Adrian Susin Ambud said the dog population in the state is believed to be between 250,000 and 300,000.
“However, even though we have delivered more than 200,000 doses of rabies vaccine, dogs breed every year, so this reduces our vaccination percentage, and as such it is quite difficult to get the exact figure (of vaccinated dogs).
“But with the establishment of IBET, this will help us to at least identify all dogs near the border so that if we can achieve 100 per cent vaccination on them, it will be very good,” he said.
Earlier in his speech, Dr Adrian said DVS Sarawak aimed to achieve at least 70 per cent of the dog population in the state to be vaccinated against rabies.
“A 70 per cent herd immunity is very important to break the viral cycle of rabies and this is considered the only real way to interrupt the disease’s infectious cycle between animal and human,” he said, and hoped that this would also reduce the number of human deaths due to rabies as well.
He said that as of Sept 16, DVS Sarawak has effectively administered anti-rabies vaccination to 222,926 dogs in the state.
“This number will continue to increase as we plan more mass vaccination programmes in targeted areas in Sarawak especially with the establishment of the Immune Belt.
“The anti-rabies vaccination for dogs is provided free of charge and available at all of our divisional veterinary offices across Sarawak and made mandatory under Section 40 of the Veterinary Public Health Ordinance 1999,” he said.
He also said that with an average of 250 animal bite notifications received monthly in the state, DVS Sarawak will continue to investigate, monitor and ensure that the state is able to contain rabies-related cases especially within the 72 areas that have been declared as rabies-infected areas.
“For all the animal bite cases that DVS Sarawak investigated, 61 per cent are from owned animals while 39 per cent are strays.
“With that, 66 per cent of the bite cases are caused by provocation by the victims. When an animal is provoked, they can bite us without a second thought as a self-defence,” he remarked.
He added that rabies samplings in animals carried out by the department this year found that out of the 209 samples taken, 33 animals had tested positive.
Also present were Ministry of Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development permanent secretary Datu Edwin Abit and Sarawak Security and Enforcement Unit director Datu Dr Chai Khin Chung.