Three-and-a-half-year-old Tika in Godog village in Garut, West Java, says she will never forget how a dog suddenly pounced on her as she walked to an outhouse in her village.
A few hours later, the rabid dog then attacked another seven people in the village.
"The incidents took place in only one day," said a village official who brought Tika to the Health Ministry in Jakarta to testify ahead of celebrations for World Rabies Day.
"Fortunately, all the victims were saved after intensive care at the local community health center."
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Sept. 28 World Rabies Day, but this year Indonesia will focus its celebration in Bali on Nov. 4.
West Java province is among 15 provinces deemed most vulnerable to a rabies outbreak.
In 2008, 122 of the 21,215 people bitten by rabid dogs died, up from 104 people the previous year, data from the Agriculture Ministry shows.
"The threat of rabies remains high across the country," Agus Wiyono, the ministry's director of animal health, said Monday.
He added that in Flores, for instance, 14 of 3,050 rabies patients died.
"Bali, which was previously free from rabies, is now among the most vulnerable areas for the disease since the first outbreak there in November 2008," Agus said.
Rabies is transmitted to humans from infected dogs or cats through bites or scratches.
The first symptoms of the disease are flu-like conditions, including fever, headache, fatigue and breathing difficulties.
Across Asia, at least one person dies every 15 minutes from rabies, with 50 percent of victims children below the age of 15 living in rural areas, Agus said.
Children often play with animals and are less likely to report bites or scratches, he added.
The WHO has declared rabies a secondary priority in animal-related disease threats, after H5N1 and H1N1.
The government is under pressure to meet its target of becoming rabies-free by 2015, mostly due to lack of public awareness about vaccinating pet dogs or cats.
Agus called on local administrations to issue bylaws requiring owners of dogs and cats to regularly vaccinate their pets to help curb the spread of rabies.
The bylaw will oblige pet owners to take preventative measures against the disease.
"The local administrations play an important role in curbing the spread of diseases through bylaws and the control of transportation of pets into there areas," Agus said.
The central government has distributed free vaccines to local administrations, he added.
"But in the future, vaccines should be paid for by the pet owners, otherwise we'll face difficulties curbing the disease," he said.
Vaccinating a dog costs between Rp 60,000 and Rp 100,000 (US$6 and $10).
Pet owners are advised to regularly vaccinate their pets each year.
Rita Kusriastuti, the Health Ministry's director for disease control, pointed out a small budget and lack of attention were among the problems hampering prevention efforts.
"We were all in shock after the rabies outbreak in Bali *last year*," she added.
The southern parts of Denpasar and Badung were the first regions to be hit by the epidemic in the resort island.
Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika has asked the Bali Legislative Council to speed up the deliberation of a bylaw that would give the administration stronger powers to handle the epidemic.
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