Cases of people infected with rabies have been increasing in number in East Nusa Tenggara, particularly on Flores Island, in the past two years. Unless it is seriously tackled, it could pose a serious threat to the tourism sector in the province. The Jakarta Post contributor Hengky Ola Sura takes a close look into the issue in this Special Report.

Journalists participating in a discussion in Maumere, Sikka regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), on May 10 watched a screen showing people who had been bitten by rabid dogs. A medical doctor was testing for rabies symptoms by offering a glass of water and blowing air toward the victims, who responded with fear.

“Two days later, the rabies victims died,” said Asep Purnama, a physician and the secretary of the Rabies Committee of Flores and Lembata, who was the sole speaker at the discussion entitled “Rabies Control in Flores and Lembata”. All the reporters agreed to cover the rabies issue and bring it to the attention of all parties, especially regional heads throughout Flores and Lembata, the two regions with the largest numbers of cases.

Since the entry of rabies onto Flores, beginning in East Flores regency in 1997, about 300 people have died from the virus. Rabid dog bite cases from January to September 2019 totaled 1,000. Worse still, antirabies vaccine stocks have been used up. In West Manggarai regency, for example, its vaccine supply was exhausted in June. In East Flores regency the stocks were used up in April and May.

Based on the Indonesian Health Profile of 2017, 25 provinces were affected by rabies and nine others declared free from rabies. The latter were Papua, West Papua, Bangka Belitung Islands, Riau Islands, West Nusa Tenggara, Yogyakarta, Central Java, East Java and Jakarta. The highest record of rabies-transmitting animal bite cases in 2017 was on Bali, totaling 29,391, followed by NTT with 10,139 and North Sumatra with 5,348. In 2018, cases in Bali declined in number to 26,130 while in NTT the total number of cases rose to 12,530.

The increasing incidents of rabies on Flores and Lembata have not received adequate attention from regional administrations. As observed by the journalists and Asep, the regents on Flores and Lembata have shown a lack of concern for the rabies problem.

In the recent regional elections, none of the politicians on Flores or Lembata talked about rabies. Data from veterinarian Melky of the NTT Animal Husbandry Office indicate that Flores and Lembata have a dog population of 450,000.

Stanislaus Jado will never forget a particular rabid dog bite case in May in Sikka regency. The 52-year-old man from Wairbaba, Luwa hamlet, Hoder village, Waigete district, has had a fear of dogs. His son, Rikardus “Riki” Laka, 29, an accounting student of the School of Economics, Nusa Nipa University, Maumere, died from rabies, making dogs an enemy of Hoder village residents. According to the victim’s older sister, Maria Astiri, Rikardus died after a high fever and a fit of convulsions on May 30.

“We thought he was suffering from food poisoning so we took him to a traditional healer who could treat the condition. Several days earlier he joined a party in a neighboring village, which might have caused the poisoning through toxic food or drinks,” said Astri.

“An antidote was given but it had no effect. Then the healer asked Riki to recall what had previously happened to him. Riki began to realize that he was bitten by a dog on April 28 in the house of his relative in Hoder village. Three of tips of the toes on his right foot were wounded,” added Astri.

Riki’s realization shocked his family members. Although Riki put adhesive tapes on the wounds and they seemed to heal, he was later taken to the emergency unit of TC Hillers Regional General Hospital of Maumere. A medical examination found Riki positively infected by rabies. On May 30 he passed on.

Sikka Regent Robby Idong in July declared that Sikka regency had an extraordinary incidence of rabies because of the large number of rabies cases. Veterinarian Maria Margaretha Siko, head of the health division of the Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Office of Sikka, said rabies cases should be seen as a problem of humanity.

“I think there should be a joint commitment involving the governor, the Flores and Lembata regents and neighborhood administrative units. We want to free Flores and Lembata from rabies instead of only giving vaccines after dogs have bitten. The [emergency] situation has been determined in Sikka but if the other regencies haven’t yet done the same, I think the rabies problem on Flores and Lembata can’t yet be resolved. With Sikka’s dog population of about 60,000, since the [emergency] status we’ve vaccinated 23,847 dogs in 10 districts, with 11 others yet to follow,” revealed Maria Margaretha.

She said rabies could hamper tourist visits to NTT. “If tourism is to become the prime mover of the NTT economy, rabies must be eradicated,” Maria stressed.

Regarding rabies and premium tourism widely analyzed in various NTT media, chief provincial spokesman Marius Jelamu said on Sept. 10 that rabies in NTT, notably on Flores and Lembata, was still under control.

“Rabies has remained a case-based rather than epidemic event. The government is attempting to eliminate the existing cases. Tourists need not be afraid of visiting Flores. The NTT provincial administration encourages regencies in Flores to anticipate such cases and appeals for public participation in reporting to local animal husbandry offices when pets are showing suspicious behavior,” added Marius.

Silvano Keo Bhaghi, a journalist of EKORA NTT, a thrice weekly newspaper in Maumere, maintained that a solution to the rabies problem in Flores should be given ample attention. In his view, rabies cannot be seen as a case-based issue.

“If the government still regards rabies by its cases, there will be insignificant solutions. Rabies massively prevails, so it cannot be a case-based matter. Flores and Lembata people are close to dogs; a sociocultural approach is needed rather than just vaccination. So the solution involves joint efforts between the government and local residents,” said Silvano.

Asep noted the intense promotion of tourism on Flores and Lembata. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo even plans to turn Labuan Bajo in West Manggarai regency, Flores, NTT, into a premium tourist destination. However, Flores and Lembata have for years been plagued by the rabies virus, which can evidently hamper the implementation of any tourism plans.

Speaking of tourism in NTT, particularly on Flores and Lembata, without heeding the prevalence of rabies means letting a bomb explode at any time on Flores and Lembata. When tourists are bitten by rabid animals that cause their deaths, it’s like a bomb blowing up that scares away other would-be visitors.