Vaccination Is Not Optimal, Rabies Cases In Jembrana Bali Soar

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JEMBRANA - Cases of rabid dog bites in Jembrana Regency, Bali, have soared. There were 100 positive cases of rabies after laboratory tests were carried out.

Head of the Agriculture and Food Service, Jembrana Regency, Bali, I Wayan Sutama, said this year the trend of positive cases of rabies was increasing.

"Today the trend is up. In 2019 there were only 10 positive lab results and in 2020 only 5 were positive, then in 2021, there were 66 positive. Meanwhile, currently, 100 are positive cases with lab results that we sent samples to", said Sutama, Wednesday, May 18.

The increasing trend of rabies cases is because the vaccination for dogs in the Jembrana area has not been optimal. This is because the vaccination budget for dogs has been relocated so that the vaccination rate for dogs is relatively small.

"This trend is due to our not being able to vaccinate optimally. Because in 2020 the budget will be refocused, so that the achievement for vaccination is relatively small and in 2020 only 6 percent of our rabies vaccination coverage. In 2021 we only achieved 30 percent, for now almost 28 percent", he added.

Currently, there are still 200 vials left in stock. His party is still asking the Provincial Government Service for additional vaccinations.

"Our vaccine is still 200 vials. We have asked the province to vaccinate it for the procurement process and information, while the tender failed in the province to procure rabies vaccine", he said.

For the estimated population of dogs in the Jembrana area, Bali, as many as 46,955 tails. For now, the steps taken to prevent the community from rabies are educating them.

"Only 28 percent of us can get the vaccine. Our first effort is education and information, and communication with the community. We have done it with the regent's circular letter and so on and we have done guidance to the community", he said.

Sutama also asked the public if they were bitten by a dog to immediately report it to the nearest health center so that it could be treated even though the dog that bit it did not have rabies.

In addition, his party is trying to get vaccinated dogs for rabies both to the central and provincial governments so that the trend of rabies cases can be finished soon.

"We are still trying to get vaccines from both the central and provincial levels. We have also had a meeting with the Regent to try to get a rabies vaccine. This is upstream, while the Health Service is also trying to get VAR or anti-rabies vaccine in humans", he said.