No sign of rabies on victims of dog bite so far

She said the department had ordered for new stock and it would arrive next week, the latest.

Sarawak staged a protest at Malaysia-China Friendship Park in Kuching last night over the culling of stray dogs in Penang in the wake of rabies outbreak.

Below is a brief fact sheet on what you need to know about rabies and the signs and symptoms of infection.

The three states have been declared as rabies-infected areas after more than 20 cases of rabies in humans were reported, Bernama reported last Thursday.

“And, maintain proper hygiene by washing hands with soap and water after being in contact with pet dogs”, he added.

He advised those bitten by dogs to immediately seek medical treatment.

“All vaccinated dogs will be given a tag”.

Stray dogs which entered Perlis through “rat lanes” used by smugglers across the Malaysia-Thai border are believed to have caused the spread of rabies in the state.

Its deputy director general (development) Datuk Dr Quaza Nizamuddin Hassan Nizam (pix) said culling strays would protect both people and their pets by reducing the risk of transmission.

On the call by the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to carry out mass vaccination instead of putting the stray dogs to sleep, Dr Afif said the mass vaccination would take time and be effective only if 70 per cent of the stray dogs were vaccinated.

“If the wild dogs are not controlled, and culled, the rabies epidemic will not be truly controlled and can spread”.

The authorities said Penangites could get their dogs vaccinated for RM35 (S$11.60) at the state Veterinary Services Department in Bukit Tengah.

Dr Afif said the state government had allocated RM250,000 for operations and vaccinations against rabies.

“However, even though they have the vaccines ready and the manpower, they expect that they can only arrive in Penang at the end of the year because of the paperwork and applications that needed to be sorted out beforehand with the federal authorities, especially the Veterinary Services Department (DVS), Health Ministry and Immigration Department”.

The 12 people – nine in Perlis, two in Penang and one in Kedah – bitten by rabid dogs have been administered vaccine on the assumption that they could develop an infection, he said.

Dr Afif said 50 samples from the killed strays had been sent for testing although the results have not returned from the Veterinary Research Institute in Ipoh, but samples from Perlis and Kedah were mostly tested as positive so far.