KUCHING: Sarawak plans to establish veterinary mobile teams to step up rabies vaccination throughout the state, says Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah.
He said this was necessary to achieve and maintain herd immunity against rabies.
"Last year, only 44,874 dogs were vaccinated by the state Veterinary Services Department (DVS) and Immune Belt Enforcement Team (IBET) across Sarawak.
"This is very much below the target 70% of the estimated 230,000 dog population in the state," Uggah said in a statement on Wednesday (March 27).
He said 14 veterinary mobile teams would be set up along with 12 enforcement teams, with a total of 133 new posts to be created under DVS.
The establishment of the teams was proposed during a two-day workshop on a plan of action for rabies control and eradication in Sarawak which ended on Wednesday (March 27).
Uggah also said enforcement action on unvaccinated dogs, targeted stray dog removal and dog licensing would be carried out immediately by DVS, IBET, police and local authorities throughout the state to reduce the stray population and increase vaccination coverage.
In this regard, he reminded dog owners to ensure that their pets are vaccinated against rabies and licensed.
"Dog vaccination is mandatory under Section 40 of the Veterinary Public Health Ordinance. Any owner or person in charge of a dog who fails to comply is guilty of an offence and may be compounded up to RM1,000," he said.
Uggah said other strategies discussed in the workshop included strengthening vaccination and surveillance, managing the dog population to achieve zero strays and conducting rabies awareness programmes.
Sarawak has recorded 71 human fatalities out of 78 rabies cases since the outbreak was declared in July 2017.
So far this year, 45 out of 174 animal samples have tested positive for rabies.
