OFFICERS from the Veterinary Authority of the Department of Agriculture Sarawak have been deployed to Serian district to home in on the source of the rabies outbreak there, Deputy Chief Minister Douglas Uggah Embas said late last night.

“We have to ascertain the source of the outbreak. That is the most critical part.

“(It is) only from there, can we start mapping our strategy to contain the outbreak,” said Uggah, who is also the minister of modernisation of agriculture, said when asked by reporters for updates after attending the Kuching branch of the Sarawak United People’s Party’s (SUPP) 58th anniversary gathering in the state capital.

“We have to make sure it is contained as soon as possible and into the smallest area possible.”

The Sarawak Health Department yesterday had declared a “health alert” in the district about 67km from Kuching after three children, aged between 4 and 7, contracted rabies.

The children, two of them siblings, are reported to be “seriously ill” and are all in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) in Kuching.

Health director-general  Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said urine samples, saliva and skin biopsies of the victims that were sent to the Institute for Medical Research in Kuala Lumpur had tested positive for the rabies virus.

The victims are a 4-year-old boy and his 6-year-old sister from Kampung Paon in Sungai Rimu, and a 7-year-old girl from Kampung Lebur in Gedong, 28km away.

The boy and his sister were believed to have been bitten by a dog “two to three months” earlier but the Health DG said it had not been ascertained whether the third victim was bitten by a dog.

On roping in the Sarawak Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) to deal with the outbreak, Uggah said the animal rights group had the expertise to handle dogs.

“We are discussing with them on what are the best steps to take. 

“Working with NGOs is important because their feedback will make sure there are no unnecessary issues,” he said.

On Sabah’s ban on the movement and transfer of live animals from the Sarawak, Uggah said the move would have a negligible impact on trade.

He said the only people who might encounter problems with the ban were individual pet owners who might want to bring their pets, particularly dogs, to Sabah.

“Rabies carriers are normally dogs.” – July 2, 2017.