Rabies: Sarawak, Kalimantan to form special committee

The Sarawak State Disaster Management Committee secretariat in a statement Friday said the special committee would hold its meeting at the respective borders of both sides.

State deputy secretary (Rural Transformation) Datuk Jaul Samion will represent Sarawak while Consulate Functions consul Muhammad Abdullah will represent the Indonesian Consulate General in Kuching.

"The committee will also initiate cooperation between their respective staff, and seek the cooperation of authorities such as army and police.

"It will also hold meetings with health specialists on steps to contain the rabies outbreak and guard the borders to prevent dogs from the neighbouring country to enter Sarawak," according to the secretariat.

Meanwhile, the secretariat in a separate statement said 260 new cases of dog bite were detected in Serian and Sti Aman between July 2 and today (July 21).

"This brings the cumulative number of dog bite cases since April 1 to 624.

"A total of 395 people had come forward to receive the vaccination. The Sarawak Health Department is making efforts to contact those who had yet to to be vaccinated," it said.

The secretariat said 12,635 pets consisting of 4,995 dogs, 7,595 cats and 45 other animals in the affected areas had already been vaccinated.