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Rabies in Bengkulu Province
Bengkulu - Health Service Office of Mukomuko district in Bengkulu province has recorded 43 dog bite cases in the district from January to June 2010.
“Because of that we have run out of anti-rabies vaccines because the cases are more than expected,” said Head of Disease Mitigation and Health Service Division of Mukomuko district Health Service Office, Riswandi Dani.
In 2009, 152 people were bitten by suspected rabid dogs; meanwhile the district only has one dose of vaccine added with 39 doses of vaccine from the Provincial Government of Bengkulu.
But, now there is no more stock of anti rabies vaccine, he said.
The local Health Service Office is planning to by 5 doses of anti-rabies vaccine shortly. “We will still try to purchase the rabies vaccines and also ask the Provincial Government of Bengkulu to provide some,” he said.
Riswandi explained that not all patients bitten by dogs are given anti-rabies vaccine; it is only given to patients that are positively exposed to rabies.
”If a person was bitten by a [suspected] rabid dog, we will determine first whether it is really rabies or not,” he said.
Even though it takes 2 weeks to confirm the disease [most likely from isolating and observing the animal involved in the biting incident - ed.], but this causes no harm.
“The patient won’t suffer from anything in two weeks, because it takes 1 month the quickest and 2 years the most for rabies to develop in the patient,” Riswandi said.
Source : Antara [edited]