BALI STRIVES TO BE RABIES-FREE BY 2015 by Fardah

  Jakarta, Jan 27, 2014 (Antara) - Bali has firmly resolved to be rabies-free by the year 2015, in order to maintain its reputation as the world's most famous resort island.

        Over the past few years, the Bali authorities have routinely carried out mass vaccination programs against rabies, targeting stray as well as domestic dogs.  
   Last year, 356 thousand dogs were inoculated, and this year, mass vaccination will be carried out yet again, for the fourth time, targeting at least 350 thousand dogs.

         The mass vaccination campaign against rabies will be implemented between April and June 2014, Head of the Bali Animal Husbandry and Health Office Putu Sumantra recently noted in Denpasar, Bali.

          The immunization program is estimated to cost around Rp12 billion and will include vaccine supply and field operations.  Everyone in the province should be involved in the fight against rabies.

         "Funds amounting to around Rp5.6 billion will be allocated from the Bali regional budget and Rp6.4 billion from the State Budget, towards realizing the mass vaccination program. The allocation set aside in the State Budget is bigger, as it will be used to procure the rabies vaccines. Currently, 105 thousand doses of the vaccine are available in Bali and an additional 250 thousand doses are required," he explained.

         In Bali, the number of rabies cases in humans has declined drastically over the recent years, thanks to the mass animal vaccination initiative.

         However, Sumantra pointed out that the number of dog bite cases in Bali tends to be quite high, namely 100 bites per day.

        "In the past few years, it was 130 bites per day. We hope the number of dog bite cases will decrease in the future," he added.   
   The first rabies-related death case was reported in Bali in 2007. In 2008, four cases were recorded, while the year 2009 saw 48 cases. The largest number of cases was recorded in 2010, which were 82 cases. After the launch of the mass animal vaccination program in Bali, the number of reported rabies cases in humans has shown a decline. In 2011, 24 cases were recorded, and by 2012, only 8 cases had occurred.  So far, 146 people have died due to rabies. 
    In 2013, Bali received an award from the United Nations' World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for its successful endeavor in significantly decreasing the number of rabies cases in humans and animals.

        "Bali has been able to significantly curb the number of rabies cases, which is something that has never happened anywhere in the world until now," Putu Sumantra claimed last year.

        He explained that between July 2012 and April 2013, no cases of rabies in humans were recorded, while 145 rabies cases were reported before July 2012.

        However, few months ago, dog bite cases re-surfaced in Bali when a rabid dog bit five people in the Gianyar District, Bali, in July 2013.  The people, who were bitten later, received medical treatment and rabies vaccinations.

         The reappearance of rabies poses as a new challenge for the island, which is striving to free itself from rabies by the year 2015.

        Initially, Bali set a target to be rabies-free by 2012, but the re-emergence of rabies cases forced the province to revise its target to 2015.

        "We have to revise our previous target of eliminating rabies in Bali by the year 2015," Ketut Suarjaya, head of Bali Health Agency, informed the press last year.

         Bali was historically rabies-free, but, in 2008, rabies was detected in a peninsula on the southern part of the island, probably introduced by rabies-infected dogs traveling on fishing boats.

         In 2009, the Australian government donated more efficient vaccines with longer lasting effects. A local NGO, the Bali Animal Welfare Association (BAWA), with the support of the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), stepped in to implement the mass vaccination campaigns.

         Australia was keen to see Bali free of rabies, as around 25 percent of more than three million foreign tourists visiting the island are Australians.

        In 2010, the BAWA, funded by the WSPA and the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), initiated a free island-wide mass vaccination campaign, targeting the dog population.

         The result was a marked decline in the number of reported rabies infections in humans. Observing the concrete results, the Indonesian Directorate of Animal Health reached out to the FAO for technical assistance in order to maintain the momentum and build upon the lessons learned while battling the rabies virus in Bali. The FAO provided Bali with 130 thousand rabies vaccines in 2012.

         "The vaccine assistance was provided to help the regional government implement its third phase of the mass vaccination campaign," remarked Sumantra two years ago.

         The FAO believed that the vaccination campaign will have to continue, since the new puppies, lacking immunity, are constantly being born, and generally, revaccination should be carried out once a year. The rabies cases will thus continue to steadily decline, and eventually, disappear from the island.

         Jim McGrane, the FAO chief technical advisor leading animal health work in Indonesia on rabies as well as avian influenza, emphasized that considerable work is still required to secure success in this mission.

         "As increasingly fewer rabies cases are being reported with every passing month, there is a risk of the people letting down their guard and not taking adequate precautionary measures, which are still necessary," McGrane stated, as quoted on the official website of the FAO.

         In other parts of Indonesia, some local authorities have also implemented measures to prevent the spread of rabies.

          In the Musirawas District, South Sumatra, the local animal husbandry and fisheries service culled hundreds of rabid stray dogs in four subdistricts.

         "The stray dogs were infected with rabies. They attacked people and livestock," Service Head Bambang Haryadi claimed earlier this month.

         He added that his office had given vaccine injections to about 1,100 pet dogs, while culled 200 others in 2013.

         Most of the culled dogs were from the four subdistricts of Musirawas, where the number of victims of dog bites was high.

          In South Pesisir (Pessel) District, West Sumatra, the local authorities have planned to poison around eight thousand stray dogs in 2014.

          Marzukri, Pessel animal husbandry and fishery office's head, recently pointed out that the population of stray dogs in the district has reached 16 thousand in 15 subdistricts.

          Pessel also organizes a bi-annual mass vaccination program against rabies, targeting domestic and hunting dogs, he stated.

         In 2013, around 7.2 thousand stray dogs were culled by the Pessel authorities.

         In the Agam District, also in West Sumatra Province, 1.5 thousand stray dogs will be culled this year as part of its endeavor to eradicate rabies.

         Agam's Secretary to Horticulture and Animal Husbandry Office Arief Restu recently remarked that the decision was made following an increase in the number of reported dog bite cases in the area.

         Last year, he claimed that there were 100 dog bite cases, with 24 being attributed to rabies. In January 2014, however, there were 15 dog bite cases, with three being infected by rabies.

        "Rabies: Understand it to Defeat it" was the theme of the World Rabies Day, which was observed on September 28, 2013, to highlight the importance of pets being given the necessary rabies vaccinations.

         According to the WHO, rabies is a 100 percent preventable disease. Around 60 thousand people die annually from rabies.  Children are most-affected by the disease, with four out of every ten rabies-related deaths being a child under the age of 15.

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