Woman, 45, succumbs to rabies in Selangau, S'wak

SIBU: A 45-year-old woman from Rumah Janggau, Sungai Tepus in Selangau has succumbed to rabies.

The Health Ministry, in a statement Monday (May 24), said the deceased was found positive with rabies on May 5.

"The deceased was bitten on her leg by a dog while trying to break a fight between two dogs on March 9,2021. She was treated with washing on her wound at Tepus Health Clinic on the same day," it said.

The ministry said following that, an anti-tetanus injection was administered. An appointment for her follow-up treatment was also set.

Unfortunately, she failed to turn up for the follow-up treatment.

"When she was finally contacted, she was given the first dose of anti-rabies vaccine on April 2," it said.

When she came for the second dose of the vaccine on May 2, she complained of eye pain, weakness and numbness on her hand.

"She was subsequently admitted to Sibu Hospital for treatment. Clinical samples for rabies virus detection tests were taken and sent to the laboratory of Sarawak General Hospital and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS)," the ministry said.

The result of the test came back positive on May 5 for rabies.

In the meantime, her health condition worsened and she died at 7.13am the next day from rabies encephalitis.

The ministry expressed its condolences to family members of the deceased.

This brings the total number of deaths from rabies in the state for this year to three.

"Since the rabies outbreak started on July 1,2017 in Sarawak, the total number of cases now stands at 34, with 32 deaths. There were two cases involving children who survived with serious neurological complications," it said.