T

he eighth victim of rabies, a 46-year-old man, died on Monday afternoon after being treated at the Sanglah General Hospital in Denpasar since Sunday morning, a hospital official said Tuesday.

The victim, I Wayan Jama Asmara, was bitten in November and was a resident of Pecatu, South Kuta district in Badung district, which had been declared a rabies-infected area by the Bali provincial administration late last year.

"The suspect had shown acute clinical symptoms and could not be saved," IGB Ken Wirasandhi, the secretary of the hospital's rabies handling team, said.

"We cannot confirm that Jama positively died of rabies because the results of his blood tests are not in yet."

The previous seven suspected victims died after being bitten by rabid dogs.

The first victim was Putu Linda, 4, who died on Sept. 17. Other victims were Made Artana, 32; Oktaf Rahmana, 3; Made Wirata; Ketut Tangkas, 3; Thomas Aquino, 32, and Ni Made Ruken, 45.

Yet, only Wirata, Aquino and Ruken were confirmed, through blood tests, to have suffered from rabies.

On Monday, Ken said Jama showed indications of the clinical symptoms of rabies like the past suspected victims.

"One thing is certain, the victim's diagnosis was encephalitis," he said.

Jama's family has refused to divulge any information.

Head of the isolation ward, Ni Made Ratni, said Monday that Jama's wife had been hysterical since her husband was declared a rabies suspect.

"She kept on crying hysterically while her husband was being treated," she said.

Badung Health Agency head AA Gede Agung Mayun confirmed the victim suffered from the clinical symptoms of rabies.

Ironically, Jama had received two antirabies vaccinations (VARs) after being bitten by a rabid dog. The first shot was given on Nov. 27.

"Unfortunately, he did not continue with the third and fourth vaccinations after he felt much better," Mayun said.

"A complete four-shot antirabies vaccination is mandatory, especially if a victim is bitten on the arm or above."

Mayun said the case was very surprising because biting cases in South Kuta were actually decreasing, but he did not give exact figures.

Health authorities have yet to identify which dog bit Jama.

There have been proposals, expressed during various discussions on how to handle rabies in Bali, that dog owners should be punished if their dogs bite people. The aim is to involve the public in preventing the spread of rabies.

The health agency also said that only Wirata, of the previous victims, had shown rabies' unique clinical symptoms, such as hydrophobia and hypersalivation.