Previous rabies cases were confined to the South Kuta area in Denpasar's neighboring regency of Badung.

During a coordination meeting with city officials, the Bali Veterinary Central Office (BBVet) confirmed the finding of the first rabid dog in Denpasar in the report, bringing the number infected to 11 after nine more dogs in Kuta, Badung, were recently confirmed to carry the deadly disease.

The rabid dog in Denpasar was found in Sesetan; the nine in Kuta were found in the districts of Ungasan, Jimbaran, Kutuh and Legian.

The first rabid dog was found weeks ago in Kedonganan, South Kuta.

Officials are hurrying preparations for its mass vaccination campaign this weekend in South and West Denpasar.

"We are doing all we can to cut the link that is transferring rabies from Kuta in the South to Denpasar in the north," said Dewa Dharma, an expert working with the special government rabies task force, created when the disease was first found.

"We cannot allow this disease to spread further," he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

Dharma, who also works as a researcher at BBVet, further urged Denpasar's residents to help his office by staying alert and reporting any suspicious dogs and immediately phone in any cases of dog bites.

"The key here is public awareness because the technical side of handling rabies is not too hard," he said.

The meeting was attended by village and district heads from South and West Denpasar, who said they were ready to mobilize residents to get area dogs vaccinated.

"We are sure we can vaccinate more than 1,000 dogs by this weekend," said Ida Bagus Rai Wiradana, South Denpasar District head.

He said about 1,700 had been vaccinated during a similar campaign in South Denpasar recently. "You can be sure there will be fewer wild dogs roaming the streets."

The vaccination campaign this weekend is targeting 10 villages in South Denpasar. Dog owners were urged to bring their animals to their nearest village centers. In all, 87 village halls will be turned into vaccination clinics.

Officials said they have prepared 14,000 doses of vaccine for the campaign, further stressing the importance of public participation in the campaign.

"Dogs live side by side with people here, so the people have ultimate control. If you do get bitten, get a rabies shot immediately and report any roaming dogs so they can be picked up," said Anak Agung Gde Putra, a pathologist on the government's rabies task force.

In response to complaints from animal rights groups about the culling of wild dogs since the rabies scare, Putra said Bali was committed to its vaccination and elimination program.

He expected the program would be reviewed in six months, by "studying our policies on transporting animals, case documentation and other important factors".

He added that March is dog mating season, further increasing the danger of an outbreak.

"We must concentrate fully on dog behavior because they bite each other during the mating season. We must be sure they have all been vaccinated before that happens," he said.

In a related development, an official from Sanglah Hospital said it had received 150 rabies vaccine series for humans from the Denpasar health agency, and confirmed another 320 were on hand in pharmacies in the city.

Ken Wirasandhi, head of the hospital's medical services division, said the hospital was ready to accommodate patients who wanted to get a preventive rabies shot, though the service would not be free.

"We have to charge people because these vaccines are reserved for those who are from areas which have been declared rabies infected," he said.

"Those who come from Kuta and Denpasar should contact the nearest village centers."

A rabies vaccination requires a series of four shots and costs Rp 120,000 per dosage at Sanglah Hospital.

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