Legislator Mangku Pastika: Increased Cases Of Rabies Threat To Bali Tourism

Member of the DPD RI Made Mangku Pastika when conveying his views at the vaccination ceremony at the Peduli Veterinary Forum in South Kuta, Badung Regency, Bali, Sunday (10/9/2023). BETWEEN/Ni Luh Rhismawati.

Member of the DPD RI Made Mangku Pastika warned that the increase in rabies cases in Bali Province could pose a serious threat to tourism as well as attracting a large handling budget. "Until now, it turns out that rabies cases in Bali are still a serious problem, so it should be a concern for the government and various parties," said Pastika during the Electoral Regional Visit (Kudapil) in South Kuta, Badung Regency, Antara, Sunday, September 10. The discussion was held by the Peduli Veterinary Forum presenting representatives of its members who are veterinarians, academics and practitioners. In the discussion, the former Head of the Bali Province Animal Husbandry and Animal Health Service, I Putu Sumantra was also present. Based on data from the Bali Provincial Health Office, from January-June 2023, there were more than 19,000 cases of rabies-infectious animal bites in the local province. Bali is recorded as the province with the highest number of rabies cases in the country. "What threatens tourism is the epidemic. If it is not handled properly, rabies has the potential to become an epidemic. Moreover, in Bali there are many dogs that are allowed to roam around. If this (rabies) is allowed to continue, this could have a major effect on tourism," said the Governor of Bali for the 2008-2018 period. In addition, high rabies cases also have an impact on attracting a large budget because every bite of a dog or animal that transmits rabies requires four injections of the anti-rabies vaccine (VAR) for people who are bitten by a dog. According to Pastika, for the handling of rabies in Bali, we cannot only rely on the government, especially structurally and human resources, which are indeed limited because they are only handled by one field in the Bali Province Agriculture and Food Security Service. "One of the parties that can help is the tourism component because those who will receive the impact if the rabies case gets serious. Therefore, tourism circles must be willing to share CSR for the handling of rabies," he said. Another effort, said Pastika, is that the Peduli Veterinary Forum can immediately have an audience with the Acting Governor of Bali Inspector General of Police Sang Made Mahendra Jaya to convey this rabies issue. Meanwhile, a small animal practitioner Dr. Soeharsono DTW PhD said rabies cases in Bali had increased sharply since 2022, at which time there were 702 confirmed cases. Meanwhile, in 2020 there were 101 cases of bite and in 2021 with 289 cases of bite. Of the 2008-2022 deaths due to rabies in Bali, more than 100 people, in 2022 there were 22 deaths and from January-June 2023 three people have died from rabies. The high number of rabies cases in Bali, said Soeharsono, was due to the large number of no-man dogs roaming the streets, or dogs having owners, but some being left loose on the road. "It is difficult to free Bali from rabies cases as long as there are still many no-man dogs roaming around. Therefore, the concentration of release from rabies cases must be by eliminating the stray dogs," he said. If you look at the success stories in other countries such as England (in 1902) and Japan (1950), they managed to be free of rabies through the elimination of stray dogs or roads. Likewise in Nusa Penida, Klungkung Regency, Bali, they can be free of rabies through the elimination of stray dogs. In addition to elimination of stray dogs, the next solution is to control the population and vaccinate the existing dogs, but some are allowed to escape on the road. "It takes one governor command, veterinary authority and the involvement of all stakeholders to suppress rabies cases in Bali," he said. Chairman of the Peduli Veterinary Forum Drh I Dewa Made Anom said his community, which was established five years ago, had tried to suppress rabies cases by taking control of the population of other rabies-infectious dogs and animals (HPRs) voluntarily. "We are not only targeting stray dogs for vaccination and sterilization, but also serving the requests of residents and the government. Apart from dogs, we are also targeting wild monkeys," he said. The former Head of the Bali Province Animal Husbandry and Health Service, Putu Sutra, added that reflecting on the experience of handling rabies that had been carried out, it was important to revive the elimination of stray dogs. Likewise, vaccines used to vaccinate rabies-prone animals must be the right type. This can be communicated with the Director General of Animal Husbandry and Animal Health.

"One case of rabies bites can have an impact on dozens of other animals and a threat to human life. In addition, the importance of education in society is to have a culture to maintain dogs properly," said Sumatam.