West Manggarai Regent NTT Orders Citizens To Tie Or Kandangkan Dogs To Prevent The Spread Of Rabies

The boy plays with his dog who has been vaccinated against rabies. (Pexels-Nice Guys)

West Manggarai Regent Edistasius Endi instructed his citizens to look after rabies-contagious animals aka HPR to prevent the spread in the district of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).

"HPR owners are obliged to bind or lock up their pets to eliminate cases that cannot be handled," said Edistasius in Labuan Bajo, West Manggarai, NTT, Friday, June 9, as reported by Antara.

To prevent the spread of rabies in the super priority tourism area, Edistasius asked his citizens to work together, especially those who have HPRs such as dogs.

After tying up or broadcasting HPR, the Regent asked HPR owners to receive vaccination services from animal health workers, at least once a year.

However, if there is a case of a bite, the public must immediately report the incident to the officers.

"It is mandatory to hand over HPR to officers from the West Manggarai Regency Animal Husbandry and Health Service to HPR suspected of being infected with rabies for further treatment," said Edistasius Regent.

This affirmation of the community has been officially conveyed by the Regent through a circular.

He hopes that the community can work together in creating an environment that is safe from rabies events through the various steps he has emphasized.

He conveyed this considering Labuan Bajo is one of the tourist destinations visited by many tourists. rabies cases can also pose a serious threat to tourism developments.

Secretary of the Rabies Committee Flores and Lembata, Dr. Asep Purnama, Sp.PD has appealed to residents to bind their pet dogs and avoid contact with dogs to prevent the rate of transmission of the rabies virus in an area.

He highlighted the importance of pets who have not had their turn to be vaccinated so they are tied up so they don't roam around and pass rabies on to other dogs.

Asep also advised the public to avoid contact with dogs as much as possible, whose vaccination status and ownership are unclear.

"Don't make contact first by tying the dog. We don't really know when a dog will appear symptoms of rabies and suddenly bite us aggressively," he said.