In response to what is feared to be a rabies outbreak in Bali, several authorities and health organizations expressed their readiness Monday to carry out several measures designed to curb the spread of the disease.

Their willingness was declared at a coordination meeting held at the Bali Health Agency chaired by Tjandra Yoga Aditama, the director general of disease control and environmental health at the Health Ministry.

The meeting was attended by officials from regency animal husbandry agencies, the Bali Health Agency, police, tourism offices, community health centers, state-run Sanglah Hospital and other related institutions.

The Bali provincial administration has declared a condition of extraordinary occurrence following the confirmation that a brain sample from a dog in Kedonganan, South Kuta, tested positive to rabies.

"This is an extraordinary occurrence or an emergency situation. We have to quickly work to restore Bali as a rabies-free area," said Dewa Ketut Oka, head of the Bali Health Agency.

However, one only one brain sample of one dog tested positive, Oka said. The results of laboratory tests on the four people who died in Ungasan village, Uluwatu, recently after being bitten by stray dogs were not available yet.

"But from the clinical symptoms of a victim, there is a strong indication they were infected by rabies," Oka said, referring to Wirata, one of the four victims.

At the meeting a number of steps to curb the spread of rabies were taken, including culling stray dogs and vaccinating domesticated dogs in areas 10 kilometers from Ungasan and Kedonganan villages.

At least 20,000 doses of rabies vaccine for dogs have been sent from Jakarta. Dog owners are encouraged to fence their dogs so they are not infected by any other sick animals.

"Seventy-five stray dogs in Ungasan and Kedonganan have been put down by lethal injection in cooperation with the Yudhistira Swarga foundation for wild dog welfare," IB Ketut Alit, head of the Bali Livestock Husbandry Agency, said.

"A similar program could be conducted throughout other regencies in Bali as the program to curb the population of stray dogs has been held on a routine basis," Katut Alit said.

In a related development, a dog lover in Bali who asked for anonymity agreed with the provincial administration's drive to get rid of the wild dogs in the affected areas.

"Just go ahead with the program, but do it in a proper way," she said.

She also encouraged officials not to use techniques such as putting dogs in gas chambers, shooting them or hitting them on the heads.

"Basically, do it in a humane way."

The dog lover said mass culling was not the only way to prevent the spread of the disease.

"What will they do with the bodies of the killed dogs?"

Other measures also have to be implemented correctly, especially in handling the dog bodies by properly burying, she added.

Bali Tourism Agency chairman Gde Nurjaya said it was important to protect Bali's image as an international tourist destination.

"The health of both humans and animals is very important here."

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