IPOH: The result of tests conducted on the carcass of a dog that bit a boy near Taiping last Thursday turned up negative for rabies, according to Veterinary Services director-general Datuk Dr Quaza Nizamuddin Hassan Nizam.
As such, five-year-old Muhammad Raqib Rayyan Mohammad Nazri, did not have to be subjected to vaccination and only needed treatment of the wound, he said when contacted today.
“No new cases of rabies were detected and the number of rabies-positive cases remained at four from the samples tested in the Larut Matang and Selama District,“ he said.
Muhammad Raqib was bitten on the calf while playing with several friends in Kampung Air Kuning near Taiping at 1.30pm last Thursday.
The mukims of Taiping and Bukit Gantang in the Larut Matang and Selama District were gazetted as rabies-infected areas on Jan 14 after a pet dog owner reported that two of his family members were bitten by a dog at Taman Sri Kota Fasa 2, Taiping, on Dec 31 last year.
Quaza said surveillance and sampling were conducted in three adjacent districts as well, namely Kinta, Kuala Kangsar and Kerian, and all the tests showed up negative for rabies.
He also said that 4,444 dogs were vaccinated and 677 dogs were put to sleep since Taiping and Bukit Gantang were gazetted as rabies-infected areas and only four of the 112 samples taken from the brain of dogs showed up positive for rabies. — Bernama
