Recent reports from health officials in Bali suggest the intense measures taken by the Island administration in controlling the spread of rabies.
Recent reports from health officials in Bali suggest the intense measures taken by the Island administration in controlling the spread of the disease, which has not spared any district in this well-known tourist destination. Emphasizing the need for more action, Nyoman Sutedja, head of the Bali Heath Office, said, “We still need to improve our readiness because rabies can spread really quickly.”
Rabies has already claimed 121 lives so far since 2008. In 2011, the number of lives lost has already touched five.
Nearly Rp 47 billion has been spent in the last three years to check the spread of rabies.
Putu Sumantra, head of Bali’s animal husbandry agency, said, “We have been monitoring the number of people being bitten by dogs, and the figure keeps decreasing by the day. There are even 10 villages where not one person was bitten by a dog in the past 12 months.”
Vaccination is the only means to control the scourge, and the Bali administration is leaving no stone unturned in protecting the nearly 300,000 dog population on the island. A mass vaccination drive is on in full swing.
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