Vaccinated dogs marked with orange tags in Dompu, Sumbawa Island, West Nusa Tenggara (C) FAO, Sadewa/2019

Sumbawa Besar, West Nusa Tenggara (14/04) – Indonesia started to intensify series of activities on Rabies control in Sumbawa, in view of the upcoming International MotoCross Grand Prix (MXGP) in Samota area, Sumbawa in June. The activities included mass dog vaccination, training on Integrated Bite Case Management (Tata Laksana Kasus Gigitan Terpadu - TAKGIT and  public education campaign targeting communities and MXGP organisers, and the formation of a Rabies Alert Cadre (Kader Siaga Rabies – KASIRA).

“Rabies is a disease that has been transmitted from animals to humans (zoonosis) for almost 200 years. This deadly disease has a mortality rate of up to 99.9% in humans. Dogs are the main source of rabies transmission. It can also be transmitted by cats and monkeys through deep bites or scratches", said Syamsul Ma'arif, Director of Veterinary Public Health, Directorate General of Livestock and Animal Health, Ministry of Agriculture, while kicking off the rabies control activities in Sumbawa Besar. .

One of the steps to prevent rabies in transmitting animals, especially in dogs is through vaccination of at least 70 percent of the dog population in an infected area. "This is what the government is trying to do through the relevant agencies in Sumbawa, by conducting mass vaccinations for dogs," added Ma’arif.

This year, the government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, declared Rabies situation in West Sumbawa Regency as ‘Extraordinary Events (KLB)’ – an alert for increased transmission cases and death that neared outbreak situation. It was the third regency in West Nusa Tenggara province, with such situation, after the government declared Rabies situation in Sumbawa and Dompu regency as KLB two years back. 

"Through this rabies control program in Sumbawa, we hope to make the upcoming MXGP international event a success and make Indonesia a tourism destination that is safe from rabies”, said Hasan Bari, the Regional Secretary of Sumbawa Regency, at the same event.

Training on Rabies Treatment with One Health Approach

A total of 98 (51 men and 47 women) representatives of animal and human health personnel from 24 sub-districts in Sumbawa Regency participated in the TAKGIT training. The training provided participants with the necessary education on how to properly handle rabies bites and cases, as well as visits to Animal Health Centres (Pusat Kesehatan Hewan - Puskeswan) and Community Health Centres (Pusat Kesehatan Masyarakat - Puskesmas) designated as rabies control centres.

"Although the death rate in humans due to rabies is very high, it can be prevented by early treatment of bite cases from animals that transmit rabies through the administration of Anti Rabies Vaccine (VAR) and Anti Rabies Serum (SAR) in health facilities, such as Community Health Centres (Puskesmas) and hospitals”, said Sitti Ganefa Pakki, Head of the Zoonoses Sub-directorate, Ministry of Health in Jakarta,

All of these efforts are carried out by the Government in close collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), with funding support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

“FAO is committed to work closely together with the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Health and subnational governments by providing the necessary support for effective rabies control in Indonesia”, said Rajendra Aryal, FAO Representative in Indonesia and Timor Leste.,

“”Rabies is a lethal disease that may disproportionately bring devastating impacts to rural and farming communities, and we need to take immediate action to control this deadly disease”, added Aryal.

Khairul Arifin, Head of Office of Livestock and Animal Health Service of West Nusa Tenggara Province, thanked the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Health and FAO for conducting this activity. "We hope that this rabies control activity can help us achieve our target of having rabies-free Sumbawa as well as the success of the MXGP event. This will encourage economic growth in Sumbawa island", added Khairul..

FAO has been collaborating with the Government of Indonesia in controlling rabies in several provinces since 2011 through awareness raising, capacity building Dog Population Management (DPM) pilot programmes, and provision of vaccines and information systems using One Health approach maintaining a close human-animal-environment interface.