SARAWAK’S third reported rabies victim, a 7-year-old girl died this afternoon at Sarawak General Hospital in Kuching,

Alicesa Lorenna ak Nody, of Kampung Lebor in Serian, died at 2.16pm.

Director-general of the Health Ministry Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said death was due to rabies encephalomyelitis.

Two rabies-infected siblings, a 4 year-old boy his 6 year-old sister, died a week ago after their parents consented to have their life support removed. They were already brain dead.

All three were bitten by rabid dogs.

The third patient was initially treated for fever but was sent to SGH when she suffered fits.

Dr Noor Hisham on Tuesday confirmed a 5-year-old girl from Kampung Ampungan, also in the infected Serian district, as the state’s fourth rabies victim.

She is reported to be critically ill and in the intensive care unit of SGH.

Dr Noor Hisham said no new cases had been detected since Tuesday.

The active case detection drive carried out by the health authorities to identify and treat people who had been bitten by dogs since April 1 is ongoing.

He said 21,978 people in 5,663 households in 96 localities were interviewed, and 225 of them were found to have been bitten and duly vaccinated. – July 13, 2017.