VAR Stock In Sikka Runs Out, 2 Victims Of Dog Bites Evacuated To East Flores

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

JAKARTA - The Department of Agriculture and Animal Health of Sikka Regency, in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Province, refers to two residents who were bitten by a dog infected with rabies to Larantuka, East Flores Regency to get an anti-rabies vaccine injection.

"Both of them have been taken to Larantuka for treatment and getting VAR even though there are no symptoms that show both of them being infected with the rabies virus," said Head of the Sikka Animal Agriculture and Health Service Yohanes Emil Sariawan Sadipun in Kupang, NTT, Thursday, May 16, as reported by Antara.

He said the reason he referred the two victims to Larantuka was because the stock of VAR owned by the local relevant agencies had run out or were empty.

So he said, after the two dog digits were exposed to rabies, until now they have not received VAR.

"If it has been brought there, we make sure it will be handled properly so that there are no more casualties," he said.

He explained that a Sikka resident named Yohanes Yubensius Hoba (33) was bitten by a dog on May 9, 2024, and a five-year-old child was bitten by a dog on Tuesday, May 14.

Yohanes Hoba was bitten by a dog in the neck when he fell. He suspected that the victim was drunk from consuming alcohol.

The dog that bit him has not been vaccinated and is still five months old. While the five-year-old boy was bitten by his neighbor's dog while playing in his yard.

"The dog who bit the child was five years old and was pregnant, and was vaccinated in May 2023," he said.

Currently, he said, his party is still observing the two dogs that bit the Sikka residents within 14 days. If at that time the dog was not dead then it was certain that the dog was free from rabies.

He added that for the procurement of VAR, his party had requested and had been handled by the Sikka Health Service (Dinkes) so that it would be sent in the near future.