With regards of the issue of lack of veterinary support from the Federal Government to help curb the spread of the disease, I will speak to the Federal Minister involved on the matter once Parliament resume this week and relay the urgency of the matter in the State. I will request the required assistance based on proper and real report on the ground so that we together can effectively handle the situation.
I do hope a proper and honest briefing on the matter was given to the Minister in order for the Ministry to be fully aware and fully understand the situation on the ground as well.
However, I believe the State government and the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee lead by Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas should be more up front and honest with the real situation with regards to the rabies outbreak that has spread all over Kuching and so far, has claimed 10 lives.
The number of confirmed cases of rabies among humans in Sarawak stands at 11 people, 10 of whom succumbed to the disease. The sole survivor – a young boy – was discharged from hospital with severe neurological problems and is on life support at his home.
On July 5th 2017, Douglas Uggah Embas, the deputy Chief Minister and State Disaster Management Committee Chairman claimed that the situation is under controlled and was confident that with their current standard operating procedures (SOP), they can contain the outbreak.
At that time, there were only five villages that were declared as rabies-infected areas, but since then, the outbreak has spread to many different places and currently it stands at 33 the number of areas across the state with confirmed rabies cases based on information reported on 5th July 2018. They comprise the Kuching division, Samarahan, Serian, Sri Aman, and Sarikei.
It could be more with the reported new cases including today where positive cases which involves a pet dog from Kampung Sungai Agas Baru, mile 12 of Matang Road Kuching that happened on 31 July, a pet cat from Jalan Padungan also on July 31, a stray dog from Lane 6, Hakka Avenue in Kuching and pet dog from Kampung Bumbok, of Jalan Batu Kitang, Kuching
We are getting conflicting reports of the seriousness of the issue where on one hand the State government and Sarawak Disaster Management Committee continuously claims that the situation is under control and the spread has been controlled. In May 20th 2018, the Department of Veterinary Services acting director Dr Adrian Susin Ambud even claims that they have managed to control the disease, reduce the number of bite cases, and there are no more new cases. Even in Parliament, when we raise the issue, we were constantly told that the situation is under control by the previous government.
Reports on the ground and the constant spread of the disease throughout the State speaks differently on the effectiveness and urgency on the matter, which calls into question the strategy that is being implemented. We are receiving reports that dog bites have not decreased, and population control has not achieved its target. On top of that, some standards based on the WHO recommendations are not followed including a repeat 6 months vaccination in the specific area.
Now, the State Government seem to be laying the blame on the new Federal Government on the matter, claiming that they are not supporting the efforts, when the fact of the matter is, the financial constraint we are facing is down due caused by the reckless spending and lack of good governance by the previous BN government.
Thus, I will bring up the issue to our Federal counterparts on the urgency on the matter as we work together to properly address the issue. I also call upon an external audit on the rabies control work in Sarawak and the report be made transparent so that we can together identify what need to be done and also to make sure what has been done before, is up to international guideline and if we are on track with the efforts done so far.
The public are seriously concerned about the real situation as calls by the government not to panic and that things are under control has not alluded the fears, as the disease continues to spread to more and more places in the State.
I would also like to appreciate the people including those from the Veterinary Department that have put their lives on the front line to help contain the virus. I would also like to encourage the public to keep their dogs/pets within their house compound and inform the local authorities if they spot a suspicious animal and not to jump to conclusions and poison the strays on the street. If anyone has been bitten by dogs or cats, they must get immediate medical treatment at the hospital.