DVS director-general Dr Quaza Nizamuddin Hassan Nizam said, however, the public did not have to worry because the infection area was limited to one village with vaccination activities being carried out within 1km radius of the area where the case was detected.
According to him, the case was detected when a dog owner reported on July 13 that his dog had died eight days after biting his daughter and niece.
“The dog had shown clinical symptoms such as vomiting, having no appetite, fever and cramps five days after it had bitten the girls,” he said in a statement, here today.
He said the Veterinary Research Institute (VRI) confirmed that the brain samples taken from the dog were positive for the rabies virus through tests conducted yesterday (July 15).
Quaza Nizamuddin said the two victims had been sent to the Kuala Sepetang Health Centre for dressing the wounds and tetanus jabs.
They were later admitted to the Taiping Hospital and are still being treated there pending confirmation to start the vaccination.
State exco Dr Mah Hang Soon later confirmed that the two children, aged 11 and 12, were found to be free of symptoms of rabies.
He said the dog may have been infected through bites of a rabid dog, brought in by foreigners from neighbouring countries by boat as Kuala Sepetang is a fishing port.
“This is an isolated case and has nothing to do with the rabies outbreak in Sarawak,” he said.
There were about 120 pet dogs and 50 stray dogs in Kuala Sepetang, he added.
Besides vaccinating pet dogs, Quaza Nizamuddin said DVS was also engaged in putting to sleep dogs that showed clinical signs of diseases and collected samples from them, in collaboration with the local authorities.
The department is also conducting surveillance within a 10km radius from the infected location.
In the meantime, he advised the public to stay away from wild or stray dogs to prevent being bitten.
“If bitten by a dog, wash the wound with water and soap as soon as possible, then go straight to a nearby clinic or hospital to get a vaccination,” he said.
Quaza Nizamuddin said pet owners were also requested not to set their pets free to roam about and to report to local authorities or DVS offices if there were dogs roaming around the area.
In the Serian district, Sarawak, 19 new dog and cat bite cases were reported today, bringing the total number in the July 2-16 period to 26. The number of such bite case since April is now 332.
Three children have so far died from rabies in the state.