SARAWAK’S fourth rabies victim, 7 year-old Florencia Edward of Kampung Ampungan in Serian, has died from the viral infection this afternoon.

The state Disaster Management Committee said in a statement late this afternoon that she died from the disease at 2.05pm.

Her death means all four confirmed rabies victims, all under the age of 7, have died.

Florencia was reportedly bitten by an infected dog on May 27 in neighbouring Kampung Saroban where she had gone to with her mother and siblings to visit their grandmother.

On July 3, the girl showed symptoms of fever, “with pain in her left arm and she appeared lethargic,” according to Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah’s statement last week.

She was first sent to Serian hospital and was transferred to Sarawak general hospital (SGH) the next day and has been warded in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the paedetriac ward ever since.

Word of her death quickly spread on social media, where Facebook user Musa Ngog said “deepest condolences to the family and relatives of the 4th rabies victims from Kampung Ampungan, Serian”.

The state minister holding a watching brief on health matters for the state government, Local Government and Housing Minister Dr Sim Kui Hian, had last Saturday said the chances of Florencia pulling through was 0.01%.

“99.99% it’s death if the rabies virus had infected her brain,” Sim said.

Two siblings, 4 year-old Jackson and his 6 year-old sister Monica Mazlan, succumbed to the infection on July 4.

The siblings from Kampung Paon Sungai Rimu were the first two confirmed cases in the outbreak that was declared on July 1.

Another girl, Alicesa Lorenna Nody, 7, from Kampung Lebur in Gedong died on July 13.

To date seven villages in the Serian district, about 90km from Kuching city, and the areas within a 10km radius of the villages, have been declared as rabies infected zones.

In its latest statement, the disaster management committee stated that a further 97 people have been detected to have been bitten by dogs since April 1, with 24 bitten today alone.

That brings the number of people bitten by dogs to 368, with 251 of them vaccinated against rabies.

The source of the infection is believed to be from Kalimantan, Indonesia.

To prevent further spread, the state government has ordered all agencies manning border posts including the army to stop the movement of animals between the two countries. – July 17, 2017.