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| -Signs, Portents, and the Weather- | |
| Rabid dogs kill 78 in Bali | |
| 2010-08-03 | |
| [Straits Times] A RABIES epidemic has gripped Bali, an island of three million people and one of Asia's top tourist destinations. Well...it was... Seventy-eight deaths have officially been logged in the past two years, including that of a 40-year-old woman a week ago, and many other deaths have likely gone unreported. The Indonesian government says it is overwhelmed, with more than 30,000 dog bites reported in just the first half of this year across Bali. In a highly criticised move, officials killed about 200,000 dogs, instead of initially conducting mass vaccinations as recommended by the World Health Organisation. FILTHY INFIDEL BEASTS!!! 'We have a serious problem with the anti-rabies vaccine for humans ... we are very short of treatment across the island,' said Nyoman Sutedja, chief of Bali's provincial health ministry, who expects all stocks to run out by next month. 'We need help.' Hospitals across Bali have faced periodic shortages of free post-exposure vaccines since the outbreak began, leaving poor residents with few options. The shots remain available at pharmacies, but many Balinese cannot afford them. 'The sad part is they get to the hospital and they get turned away because they don't have any vaccines,' said Janice Girardi, an American who runs the nonprofit Bali Animal Welfare Association, which has vaccinated 45,000 dogs and recently received funding to conduct an islandwide campaign. 'Then they go home and die.'
Say, Bill, what's that foamy crap on your mouth? Shots given immediately after contact with saliva from a rabid animal can easily prevent death. But once symptoms appear, treatment is useless. Rabies kills some 55,000 people annually - mostly children - with nearly 60 per cent of those deaths from dog bites in Asia, according to the WHO. The disease still exists in the US, but human deaths are extremely rare. Nearly all bites occur from wild animals, such as raccoons or bats. | |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #5 If they'd start animal shelters or humane societies it might help. |
| Posted by: miscellaneous 2010-08-03 18:10 |
| #4 An even more traditional solution to stray and feral dogs is to open Korean restaurants. Kagoi! About the only dogs or cats I saw in country were on the side of the fence housing the US Forces. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2010-08-03 17:55 |
| #3 The traditional solution to the stray and feral dog problem in South America was itinerant "dog poisoners", who would go from town to town. Each town would provide them with a 55 gallon drum, a specified poison, hunks of rotting meat to marinate in the poison in the drum, and a wheelbarrow. Then, in the early a.m., after due notice to the public to keep their dogs inside, they would put out the meat around town for the stray dogs. An hour or two later, the poisoner would collect the dead dogs, and any uneaten meat, for disposal. Though this was not terribly demanding work, such people were paid handsomely, and often developed severe psychological problems, which is no surprise. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2010-08-03 10:07 |
| #2 "Here, Cujo, nice boy. Come here" |
| Posted by: Frank G 2010-08-03 08:32 |
| #1 There goes my Yoga vacation to Bali. Between the booms and wild rabid dawgs, Bali ain't fun no mo'. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul at FL360 2010-08-03 01:14 |