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Grassroots war on rabies

Population control: Vets neuter dogs and cats to control feral animal populations at a free rabies vaccination event in Pajeng, Gajeng regency, Bali, on Nov

Trisha Sertori (The Jakarta Post)
Pajeng, Bali
Thu, November 26, 2015

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Grassroots war on rabies

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span class="inline inline-center">Population control: Vets neuter dogs and cats to control feral animal populations at a free rabies vaccination event in Pajeng, Gajeng regency, Bali, on Nov. 15.

With a near eight-fold increase in deaths caused by rabies this year, local communities are taking the offensive to rid Bali of the scourge.

Hundreds of villagers from Pajeng village in Gianyar brought their pets for free rabies immunization, skin disease treatment and sterilization in a mass vaccination program on Nov. 15.

With a 300 percent rise in the number of rabies-infected dogs over 2014 and 15 human deaths this year versus just two in 2014, there is a growing urgency for communities and local administrations to take a proactive approach to the eradication of the deadly disease, according to Bali Health Agency official and rabies program manager Wayan Pujana.

'€œThere was one death in 2013 and two in 2014; this year until mid-October, we have seen 15 deaths from rabies. The number of dog bites remains static at around 100 to 110 daily,'€ Pujana says via telephone. He stresses that the deaths this year were recorded across Bali where, to date, almost 32,000 dog bites had been reported and almost 23,000 people had received anti-rabies treatment after being bitten.

He paints a bleak picture on the rapid increase in rabies-infected dogs: '€œLast year from 753 dogs brought in on suspicion of rabies, 132 dogs proved positive; this year from a sample of 1,681 dogs, 454 tested positive for rabies. That represents an approximate jump of 300 percent in infections,'€ says Pujana.

It is these shocking facts that have spurred communities, local veterinary associations, local administrations and sponsors to come together to fight at the grassroots, says Ubud-based vet Dr. Puji Atmaja. The head of the Gianyar Veterinary Association, Puji says he was startled and pleased by the number of people bringing their cats and dogs for vaccination and sterilization in Pajeng earlier this month.

'€œDespite our banner stating opening times of 9 a.m., people were already streaming in for vaccinations at 7 a.m. Dozens of people with their dogs lined up for vaccinations and sterilizations,'€ says Puji, one of the organizers of the Gianyar public vaccination day. To date, similar events have been carried out in Karangasem, Bangli and Buleleng regencies as well as Mengwi in Badung regency, which has had the greatest death rate from rabies this year with six people dying from the disease.

Safe for children: Dayu Suartini is happy to know her dogs are vaccinated against rabies and neutered.
Safe for children: Dayu Suartini is happy to know her dogs are vaccinated against rabies and neutered.

The goal of the public vaccination events is to '€œspeed up the eradication of rabies in Bali by working in synergy with the government, which supplied vaccines and medicines for the event'€, says Puji, adding that all vets working on the project were registered with the Gianyar regency administration.

'€œThis was a spontaneous project, driven by the community of Pajeng. They want a rabies-free Pajeng. Many came for booster shots. We believe of the 800 dogs in Pajeng, all are now vaccinated,'€ says Puji.

Despite these vaccinations, rabies continues an onerous scourge across the island province, due in part to dog smuggling.

'€œThe big obstacle to eradication of rabies is dog smuggling to Bali. The provincial administration is struggling with this issue, and the vet association gives it full support to the Bali administration to halt illegal dog imports,'€ says Puji.

Another great problem is family pets being allowed to wander freely. According to Puji, regional regulations stipulate that pets are to be kept within fenced areas, but the rule is not enforced strictly.

'€œWe already have rules that dogs are not allowed to wander away from houses, but that is not enforced, due to a lack of awareness by the public,'€ says Puji. '€œThe fact is, we have rabies, and the public must be concerned about this.'€

Puji adds there were calls to have dogs registered for identification purposes, but added that a regulation on the matter was still in process at the provincial administration.

Local resident Dayu Suartini expresses support for the rabies vaccination event. In her lap sits mini Pomeranian Chico, who has just been vaccinated while his brother, Rambo, is under anesthetics for sterilization.

'€œWe vaccinate our dogs every year, and my family and I are really enthusiastic that this vaccination is free today. This event is rare, so I thank the organizers, the government and the vets. This makes me feel my children are safe when they are playing in the streets,'€ says Dayu.

'€œPeople need to feel safe from rabies. We need to repeat these events across Bali. This disease is so dangerous for people and animals. It needs to be eradicated. If all dogs are vaccinated, we don'€™t need to cull dogs,'€ Dayu adds.

Community responsibility: People attend a free rabies vaccine and pet sterilization program in Pajeng. Organizers of the event, which was attended by hundreds of people, said the fight against rabies was the responsibility of the government, communities and vets across Bali.
Community responsibility: People attend a free rabies vaccine and pet sterilization program in Pajeng. Organizers of the event, which was attended by hundreds of people, said the fight against rabies was the responsibility of the government, communities and vets across Bali.

Communities need to take responsibility for rabies if the disease is to be eliminated in Bali, says Dr Gusti Ngurah Dibya Presata, one of many vets volunteering their time for the event.

'€œClearly the goal of this project is to raise awareness among the people of Pajeng, because Pajeng is ready to respond to the rabies problem. A lot of dogs are dumped at the Pajeng market, so with this project we want to raise the issue of responsibility in keeping dogs,'€ says Presata.

Presata stresses that Pajeng faced the issue of people dealing in dogs.

'€œThe Pajeng community does not want unhealthy dogs in the village, and there is pressure on this village to deal with rabies, because Pajeng is the center for trafficking of dogs by people from other areas,'€ says Presata.

He and his colleagues hope this grassroots war on rabies will spread across Bali and offer the public some hope that, by taking responsibility and working with the government and vets, the rabies will one day be a thing of the past in Bali.

'€” Photos by JP/JB Djwan

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