KUCHING: Salcra Roban South in Saratok yesterday became the 59th area in Sarawak declared as rabies infected.
This was announced by Deputy Chief Minister and State Disaster Management Committee (JPBN) chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas in a statement issued by the JPBN secretariat.
This came a week after Kampung Bogag, Krokong in Bau and Kampung Stenggang, Jalan Bau-Lundu were announced as the 57th and 58th rabies infected areas in the state.
JPBN advised the public in these areas not to let their dogs roam freely and to obtain permission from the State Veterinary Authority if they are to bring dogs out of the infected areas.
If found guilty, an offender of this regulation under Section 37 (2) and (3) of the Veterinary Public Health Ordinance 1999, faces a fine of up to RM5,000 or imprisonment up to three months or both.
Since June 30, 2017 until today, the confirmed rabies cases among humans are 16, of which 15 have died while one case is under home treatment with neurology complications.
An Indonesian who succumbed to rabies at a private hospital in Kuching on Dec 18, was not infected in Malaysia as the bite history stated that the victim was bitten in September in Indonesia and had earlier sought treatment there.