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Health Ministry confirms Melaka is free from rabies

Jul 18, 2017

The Health Ministry has confirmed that Melaka is free from rabies. 

It says a 6-year-old boy who was earlier tested for suspected rabies, has tested negative for the virus. 

The Ministry says it has yet to find out what exactly the boy was infected with, adding that there are several other viruses that can display similar symptoms as rabies. 

This also means that only Serian in Sarawak has had human rabies infections so far, causing the death of four young children. 

However, the ministry is optimistic that the rabies outbreak in Serian can be controlled through cooperation between its officers and the Department of Veterinary Services.

Its also not ruling out the possibility, that the outbreak in Serian originated from West Kalimantan in Indonesia.

Meanwhile, the Veterinary Services Department has culled 19 stray dogs in Kuala Sepetang, Perak, as part of its ongoing inspection for rabies. 

The cull was carried out within a 1km radius from where two girls were bitten by a rabid dog earlier this month. 

The Department adds that its also checked over 300 animals, and took samples from five dogs for further tests. 

This, as the Fire and Rescue Department has offered its assistance to address the rabies outbreak. 

It says it has the experience and equipment to do so, having been involved in containment efforts back when the country was hit by the outbreak of Japanese Encephalitis.

The department says among the tasks it could carry out, is use its water pumps to help clean the affected areas.