Two years without incidence to declare Msia rabies-free

KUALA LUMPUR: It will take two years without any rabies incidences to declare Malaysia to be free from the virus, the Veterinary Services Department says.
Its director general, Datuk Dr Quaza Nizammudin Hassan Nizam, said although the rabies incidences mainly affected Sarawak, the whole of Malaysia will be taken into account.
"We have to look at the whole country, not just Sabah or Sarawak. It will take two years without any rabies cases before we can be declared rabies free again," he told the media after launching the 26th International Conference of the World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology (WAAVP 2017) at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC).
He said this means taking animals, especially dogs out of the country would involve more stringent checks.
"There will be stricter requirements for owners to adhere to before they can take their pets out of Malaysia. And there possibly would be longer quarantine periods as well."
Quaza also called for more responsible pet ownership and said about 60% of diseases can be transmitted from animals to humans.
"Thus, it is important to maintain the animals' health for the public's well being as well as for animal productivity, like milk production. If animals are not well taken care of, it may also contribute to a high fatality rate amongst livestock," he said.
He added that owners of animals, let it be pets or livestock, should always maintain the health of the animals by taking them for vaccinations and regular check-ups.
In the convention, there will be discussions about fast detection of diseases caused by parasites.
"There are a lot of diseases that are now resistant to medications, even diseases caused by parasites. So it is important to discuss other preventive measures," he said.