2464. Rabies in Bali

June 11, 2015. t
I attended a Rabies seminar organised by the AVA regarding rabies in Bali. Rabies was diagnosed in 2008 and mass vaccination of the dogs in various villages had brought down the numbers of infection in people but not completely eradicated this fatal disease. A group wanted all stray dogs to be culled and therefore no rabies would be present. But another group was against such acts as they are pets and are bred. The predominant culture is Hinduism and tourism is a big revenue earner. So rabies need to be eliminated.   

The medical and veterinary department worked together to control rabies in Bali as tourism will be affected if rabies is endemic. The stray dogs are getting street wise and are difficult to net for rabies vaccination.  Free treatment is given only to people bitten by dogs confirmed by lab test to have rabies as the 3-shot vaccine treatment or the use of immunoglobulin is very expensive.