Too early to say threat of rabies has eased

BAU: Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek said it was still too early to declare rabies or mad dogs threat in Sarawak has eased.
"It is too early for us to make a declaration. To date, the situation is stable, we find positive cases in some places but the number of areas still remain at 22. It's also too early to make any decisions but we hope there will be no new cases but in such cases we will take the same measures," he said after visiting a vaccination operation at Suarah Bau Hall, here today.
Also present were Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas and Veterinary Services Department (JPV) director-general Datuk Dr Quaza Nizamuddin Hassan Nizam.
The Bau area has 104 villages and an estimated 8,000 dogs.
Commenting further, Ahmad Shabery said he had talked to the state government and JPV to send more staff to help deal with rabies outbreak.
"Maybe we will add 10 or 20 more people so we can create more teams to enable them to move around the whole area. The rest, if needed I will inform through the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma), for example, if there is a need to get help from other agencies such as police, military, Civil Defence Force (APM) and so on," he said.
When asked about the availability of vaccine, Ahmad Shabery said people should not worry because there is enough vaccine. — Bernama