The state used to have one public veterinary clinic in the Sekama district, but it was closed in the late 1990s due to the growth of private veterinary clinics, Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister Douglas Unggah Embas said.
“The practice has always been that the veterinary clinics are privately operated,” he told FMT today.
“So the claim that we had to shut them (public veterinary clinics) down due to budget cuts is false.”
He was responding to an allegation by Dr Kelvin Yii, special assistant to Sarawak DAP chief Chong Chieng Jen, who claimed that the government had shut down all its veterinary clinics in the state due to budgetary cuts.
Yii said that the rabies outbreak in Serian had highlighted the importance of such facilities.
“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 had said.
Bernama earlier today reported that three children in Serian, aged four, six and seven, had been warded in intensive care units after being diagnosed with rabies.
When contacted, Sarawak Veterinary Services Department Director Dr Adrian Susin Ambud said the department had been providing ambulatory services for pets belonging to those living in rural areas.
This is because the government is aware that rural folks may have difficulty accessing and employing the services of private veterinary clinics, he said.
“But (the service is provided) only when there is a request for it,” he said.
He also said that after the veterinary department was informed of the three confirmed cases of rabies yesterday, it had begun working closely with the state’s health department to put in place measures to control and minimise the outbreak.
These included informing those living in the affected areas to seek immediate treatment following a dog bite and to keep their pets within their home compounds, Ambud said.
“Epidemiological surveillance will be carried out within a 6km radius from the infected areas, to monitor and control the possibility of rabies spreading to other areas.
“Also, control over entry of animals at all border points by the veterinary department will be tightened to prevent new sources of rabies outbreak,” he added.
Besides that, the department will also carry out rabies awareness campaigns through print and electronic media, he said.