Indonesia Receives 400 Thousand Rabies Vaccines From Australia

UNSPLASH/Mufid Majnun ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - The Australian government on Tuesday administered 400 thousand doses of rabies vaccine to the Indonesian government in Denpasar, Bali.

Of the 400,000 doses of the vaccine, 200 thousand doses were used in Bali. Meanwhile, another 200 thousand doses were used to combat the emergency rabies outbreak in West Timor, where the vaccine had started on July 20, 2023.

"Australia is proud to support Indonesia's rabies response, which is targeting an outbreak of direct rabies," said Australian Consul-General Anthea Griffin in a press release by the Australian Embassy as reported by ANTARA, Tuesday, August 15.

Anthea congratulated local health services for their outstanding work in coordinating emergency response.

" Dog vaccination saves human lives, and community participation is very important in controlling dog rabies anywhere," Anthea continued.

Australian Veterinary Officer Mark Schipp said cooperation between Australia and Indonesia in rabies not only supports friends and neighbors, but also stops the spread of rabies in the region.

Mark said more than 99 percent of rabies cases in humans were caused by the bite or scratch of infected dogs.

"Rabies 100 percent can be prevented by routine vaccination of dogs, preventing transmission to humans, especially children, which causes more than 40 percent of deaths from rabies," Mark said.

Director of Animal Health from the Director General of Animal Husbandry and Animal Health of the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture, Nuryani Zainuddin, said that the close partnership with Australia in animal health has supported Indonesia's coordinated efforts to control and prevent the spread of rabies.

"Our animal health authorities coordinate the use of Indonesia's vaccine supply to vaccinate more than 89 thousand dogs in seven weeks in the Bali and West Timor outbreak areas," explained Nuryani.

Australia is partnering with the World Organization for Animal Health and the Australian-Indonesian Health Safety Partnership in supporting the Indonesian government in controlling rabies.