THE ongoing rabies outbreak in Sarawak continues to pose a serious threat to public health, and Opar assemblyman Billy Sujang has called for swift government action to stop additional deaths and end the fatal illness.
Sujang highlighted the staggering toll of the outbreak since its resurgence in 2017, raising the issue at the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly.
As of April 2025, the state has recorded 82 human rabies cases, with 75 resulting in fatalities, a mortality rate of 91.5 per cent.
“The figures are deeply concerning, with Kuching leading at 27 cases, followed closely by Sibu with 26, Serian with 15, and Bintulu reporting six confirmed cases.
“The other divisions reported fewer than five cases each,” Sujang said when proposing a motion for the TYT’s address at the fourth meeting of the fourth session of the 19th Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting on Wednesday.
Sujang proposed a significant boost in manpower for the Department of Veterinary Services Sarawak (DVSS).
“In 2024, the department has requested additional staff members of 566 to support their operations.
“The establishment of 30 Veterinary Mobile Teams (VMT) is essential to accelerate vaccination coverage to at least 200,000 dogs annually and to implement the seven outlined strategies effectively.
“If the government does not approve the additional posts requested for establishing these mobile teams, we risk failing to eradicate rabies as stipulated in the Post-COVID-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030,” he said.
