Mass Rabies Vaccination Conducted In Bali

Denpasar (Antara Bali) - Mass rabies vaccination was conducted again in Denpasar city on Sunday in an effort to make Bali a rabies-free island for tourism.

"As a tourist destination , Denpasar should be free from rabies  in order to give a sense of safety to  the local people as well as tourists visiting the island," Denpasar Mayor IB Rai Dharmawijaya said at the sidelines of a mass rabies vaccination drive here on Sunday.

Rai Mantra said  there must be awareness of the whole community in Bali to support the effort of reducing the danger of rabies transmission to people.

He said the local people should have awareness to have their pets such as dogs, cats, and monkeys vaccinated regularly by the Denpasar city government.

Meanwhile, local Animal Husbandry, Marine and Fisheries Office spokesman Dewa Made Ngurah also called on the local community to immediately report to the office if they were bitten by the rabies carrier animals.

"In addition the local officials should eliminate the rabies carrier animals and facilitate the local community to obtain anti rabies vaccine at the nearby hospitals and clinics," Dewa Made said.

He explained that the mass  vaccination of 1,680 rabies carrier animals was conducted at six villages in Denpasar Selatan sub-district on Saturday and Sunday.

According to Dewa Made, the mass rabies vaccination would be continued on June 19-20 at a number of villages in Denpasar Barat sub-district and then on July 9-10 in Denpasar Utara sub-district.

"In our effort to realize rabies-free Denpasar, we have to register the rabies carrier animals, to make rabies familiarization, to control the population of the animals, and to take immediate action if there as rabies case," Dewa Made said.(*)