Rabies claims third victim in Sarawak

Another child has succumbed to rabies in Sarawak, raising to three the number of children who have died from the disease in the state since July 4.

The seven-year-old girl from Kampung Leboh, Gedong, in the Serian district died at 2.16 pm at the Sarawak General Hospital here, said Director-General of Health Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

"As of today, there were four confirmed rabies cases in Serian, Sarawak. Three of the victims have died. The fourth victim is under treatment at the Children's Intensive Care Unit of the Sarawak General Hospital and is in critical condition.

"No new cases of rabies have been reported," he said in a statement.

On July 4, two children, siblings Monica and Jackson Mazlan, aged six and four respectively, of Kampung Paon, Sungai Rimu Bakung, Serian, died at the same hospital. They were confirmed to have been infected at the end of last month.

The fourth victim is a five-year-old girl from Kampung Ampungan in Serian.

Noor Hisham said Active Case Detection (ACD) to trace dog-bite cases had been implemented in the rabies-infected Serian district by the Serian Health Office and the Sarawak Health Department.

"ACD was implemented in 96 settlements encompassing 5,663 households, and 21,978 people have been questioned about dog bites.

"A total of 225 dog-bite cases were detected in the rabies-infected Serian district and the victims have been administered treatment. Health education on rabies was also held for the villagers," he said.