By Karen Bong
KUCHING, May 5: Kuching South City Council (MBKS) is considering lodging a police report to probe the source of a possible exposure to rabies, following a Labour Day incident where a rabid dog bit nine people in the vicinity of RH Plaza.
MBKS Mayor Dato Wee Hong Seng said that the black dog was trapped by a group of volunteers following an alert posted on his social media page and the Department of Veterinary Sarawak (DVS) has confirmed yesterday that it tested positive of rabies.
The black dog which exhibited aggressive behaviour had been spotted roaming around 101 commercial centre to RH Plaza within the BDC area recently before the biting incidents occurred.
“But I don’t know how they (volunteers) managed to catch the dog which exhibited aggressive behaviour. This is something that needs to be answered. We will also conduct an investigation as it is crucial to understand and find out if the dog had an owner, given that it was wearing a tick repellent collar or if it was lured by food from feeders in the area.
“We need to know where the dog came from and to further understand its movements to ascertain its likely exposure,” he told DayakDaily when contacted today.
On the same day of the dog bite incident, Wee said that the Council’s Dog Unit Team was dispatched to investigate and managed to remove two stray dogs which were suspected to have mixed with the rabid dog at Jia Jia food court in RH Plaza.
“The dogs were immediately sent to DVS for rabies sampling.
“As prevention and control measures since a rabid dog was present in the area, all strays will be removed in the area,” he said..
Wee added that all the victims have sought immediate treatment at the hospital and called on others who may have been bitten or scratched to do so if they have not.
“We actually don’t know if more people have been attacked but this is a life threatening bite so if there are others who have encountered similar incidents, they need to go to the hospital,” he said.
Instead of pointing fingers and making jokes, Wee emphasised that it is more important to come up with practical solutions and actions to resolve the issue.
“So I want to appeal not only to the public but elected representatives that we need to work together to eradicate rabies in Sarawak, particularly Kuching,” he urged. — DayakDaily
