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Pontianak – Slow response to the Rabies outbreak in West Kalimantan results in the death of two more people. By Monday (23/2/2015), 18 lives have fallen victim to rabies.

Head of West Kalimantan Province Livestock and Animal Health Services, Abdul Manaf Mustafa, said rabies victims were generally children between 4 and 9 years old. Overall there were 255 dog bite patients, but only 194 received post-exposure treatment.

“Some declined, and roads to the location were difficult and remote,” said Manaf in Pontianak.

Manaf said giving quick response is difficult because bite incidents were reported late. A village typically has numerous entry/exit points and many dogs that bit were killed by local residents, hampering rabies diagnosis. Also, natural barriers between rabies infected subdistricts in West and Central Kalimantan no longer exist due to the expansion of palm oil plantations.

“Currently vaccination of dogs or other rabies hosts is ineffective because access to villages is difficult, poor public awareness and limited facilities. Additionally, the budget is tight and there’s a shortage of officers,” said Manaf.

To increase the effectiveness of rabies mitigation, Manaf asks all elements to participate in controlling this outbreak. People in remote villages who own dogs should cage their dogs at night.

In 2014, West Kalimantan Province was declared free from rabies through Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture Decree No. 885/Kpts/PD.620/8/2014. However, rabies started to spread uncontrolled in early January 2015.

Currently the government is trying to control dog bite incidences by vaccinating 525 dogs in Melawi district and 4,600 dogs in Ketapang district. (Adi Saputro)

Source: Detik News [edited]