This was revealed by Dr Kelvin Yii, who is the special assistant to Sarawak DAP chief Chong Chieng Jen.
“Due to budget cuts, government veterinary clinics have since been shut down in the state. There used to be one at Sekama, Kuching which is now converted into a quarantine centre. However, there is none in the Serian district.
“Due to its severity, it is important that this outbreak be addressed properly. I urge for the setting up of government veterinary clinics in different towns to give the public affordable and better access to the animal clinic services to make sure diseases like this are preventable,” he said.
Yii was referring to a Bernama report earlier today about three children, aged four, six and seven, who are currently warded in intensive care after being diagnosed with rabies.
Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, in a statement today, said the health ministry received a report from the Sarawak Health Department after being notified by the Sarawak General Hospital on June 22.
Yi said that since rabies was a preventable disease, urgent steps should be taken by the state authorities to address the issue before more unwanted victims or even deaths were registered.
“Rabies is a disease caused by the Lyssavirus which is spread through dogs that are infected. Once symptoms appear, it has a 100% mortality rate,” Yii said adding that the government’s policy must be reviewed, with immediate funding allocated to Serian for a government veterinary clinic to be set up.
He said this was to help authorities in Serian handle the situation better and for the future prevention of other diseases involving animals.
The government veterinary clinic would also be able to offer the public the choice of cheaper medical treatment for animals as not everyone could afford the charges at a private clinic, he added.
Government veterinary clinics come under the purview of the veterinary services department, which is a division of the federal government’s agriculture and agro-based industry ministry.
Interestingly, Yii also proposed a different approach to the problem of stray dogs in Serian, compared with that taken by his party leader, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, who as Penang chief minister in September 2015, ordered the culling of thousands of stray dogs after a few rabies cases were reported, following an outbreak which started in neighbouring Kedah.
“The local council should also up their efforts to round up stray dogs in the area. These dogs should not be culled but given the required medical attention if needed and be properly quarantined.
“This disease is preventable and vaccine is available. I thus encourage members of the public to seek medical help if they get bitten by any dog as well as also play their part and alert the authorities if they see stray dogs around,” Yii said.
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2015/10/09/mass-culling-of-stray-dogs-ends-in-penang/