TAIPING, Jan 30 — Deputy Health Minister Dr Lee Boon Chye today said that littering and improper food waste disposal were reasons behind the spread of rabies.

He said such behaviour hampered the Veterinary Services Department’s (DVS) efforts to restrict rabies through the culling of strays.

"They move to the places where they can find food waste or litter as it is their food source. 

Thus, it allows strays to be in-contact with dogs which are infected with rabies and difficult for the authorises to take action,” he told reporters after attending the public forum on rabies at Larut Matang and Selama health office here. 

"The public should also play their role in curbing this problem. They should not litter and dispose of the food waste properly. Litter attracts strays,” he added. 

Taiping and Bukit Gantang were declared as rabies zones after four positive results were detected following two bite reports in December.

Dr Lee said it is important to vaccinate or cull all the strays in a rabies-infected area in order to stop the disease from spreading further. 

Taiping Municipal Council enforcement and safety chief Musnarizal Abdul Manap said that there are about 1,000 strays in the rabies zone and only 328 of them have been culled so far.

Saying there were around 50 illegal dump sites in Taiping alone, he said efforts to locate the strays have only been partly successful.

As of yesterday, DVS and the local authorities have vaccinated about 3,700 dogs all around Taiping and about 28 human vaccines have been used for high-risk cases. 

Dr Lee highlighted that rabies was potentially fatal and was currently incurable.

"In Sarawak, 16 cases resulted in death while the last one is paralysed. In Taiping, there is no human rabies case so far and it’s under control,” he said. 

When asked how a rabies infection occurred in Taiping, Dr Lee said the exact cause was not currently known but said it was possible that the disease may have been carried in from Thailand as fishermen from Kuala Sepetang here bring dogs along when fishing along the northern side. 

Rabies diseases in Thailand are endemic.