KUCHING, 6 April 2018:
A 26-year-old man has become the seventh and latest victim of rabies since the infection was detected in Sarawak early last year.
The State Disaster Management Committee said in a statement last night the victim from Taman Seri Makmur, Baru 6, Matang, died at the Sarawak General Hospital on Tuesday.
According to the statement, the man was bitten by a stray dog on Dec 23 – but he did not seek treatment at a hospital and instead obtained medicine from a nearby pharmacy.
Last month, the man suffered muscle spasms, numbness and headaches – he then sought treatment at a private clinic on March 29 and 30 before being referred to the Sarawak General Hospital.
“He had symptoms of hydrophobia, aerophobia, headache, hallucination, overall weakness and paralysis. His condition worsened and he died on April 3.”
According to the statement, eight cases of rabies in humans were detected since June 30 last year – resulting in seven deaths and one case was discharged from the hospital and given treatment at home.
To date, the state government has announced that 30 areas in five divisions in Sarawak have been declared rabies-infected – namely Serian, Sri Aman, Kuching, Samarahan and Sarikei.
“Active case detection to detect dog-bite cases has been implemented according to existing procedures by the State Health Department and the relevant division health offices.”
– Bernama