KUCHING, May 28: The State Disaster Management Committee (JPBN) today declared that Kampung Selarat Sematan in Lundu District as a rabies-infested area.
According to the statement from the committee, the declaration by its chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah who is also the Deputy Chief Minister, was made because it was just within the 10km radius of an area declared to be infested.
This makes it the 31st rabies-infested area in Sarawak.
The most recent rabies victim was a three-year-old foreigner in Kampung Sandong near Kuching, making it the fourth human case this year.
The victim had been bitten by a stray dog while staying at Kampung Sandong in early April 2018. He was brought to a nearby government health clinic for treatment where he was given an anti-tetanus (ATT) shot and was advised to seek further treatment at a health facility.
The victim was brought by his family to the Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) Emergency and Trauma Department on May 3 after having fever for five days and showing signs of anxiety and confusion.
“He was immediately admitted to the children’s ward where he began to show clinical signs of rabies such as hydrophobia and difficulty in swallowing.
“The clinical samples of the case were sent to the Medical Research Institute on May 8 and was confirmed to be rabies positive,” said Health Ministry director general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah in a statement last week. — DayakDaily
