KUCHING: Malaysia and Indonesia has agreed to form a joint committee on prevention and control of rabies outbreak along the border between Sarawak and West Kalimantan, Indonesia.
The formation of the joint committee was deliberated and agreed upon during a special meeting between delegates from the state government led by Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas and representatives from the Indonesian authorities.
The secretariat in a statement said the committee would be jointly headed by Deputy State Secretary (Rural Development) Datuk Jaul Simon representing Sarawak and Indonesian consul-general in Kuching, Muhammad Abdullah.
“The committee will promote greater cooperation among health and security workers from Sarawak and Indonesia for better prevention and mitigation efforts to curb the spread of the virus.
“Both Sarawak and Indonesia will exchange information and expertise on ways on rabies prevention and control.
“Both parties will conduct stricter enforcement along official and unofficial border to prevent migration of dogs,” the secretariat said today.
The meeting was held in the wake of the rabies outbreak in the Serian district, believed to be caused by dogs infected of the virus from West Kalimantan.
Since the outbreak emerged in the district in June, the virus have claimed the lives of four children aged between four and seven. The fifth confirmed case involved a 52-year-old man, who had history of being bitten by a dog.