KUCHING, Nov 4: The Sarawak Health Department is awaiting test results to determine the cause of death of a five-year-old which is suspected to be rabies.
Sarawak Health Department director Dr Jamilah Hashim said that so far, there has been no records of animal bites in the victim’s medical history.
“The case diagnosis will be known as soon as we receive the test result from the Medical Research Institute in Kuala Lumpur,” she disclosed in a press statement, yesterday.
The statement was issued in response to a Chinese news report on November 3, 2019, that a five-year-old child had died due to rabies.
Jamilah also revealed that the child started to feel ill on October 13, 2019, and was admitted to the Sarawak General Hospital on October 21, 2019 with symptoms such as fever, fatigue, loss of appetite and desire to drink and also hallucinations.
“However, the conditions got worse while being treated, and the child passed away on November 2, 2019,” she added.
Jamilah also reminded Sarawakians to immediately wash wounds caused by animal bites with soap and water for at least 15 minutes, and to seek immediate medical help at the nearby clinic or government hospital. — DayakDaily
