Photo: MUHAMAD SHAHRIL ROSLI/The Star
LITTLE Awang was nipped when he was playing with a seemingly friendly stray dog that had approached him with a wagging tail. Unbeknown to the young Sarawakian, deadly viruses lurking within the dog’s saliva had transferred to him. Days later, he began experiencing fever and muscle weakness – symptoms that were tragically misdiagnosed as a common flu. By the time rabies was suspected, it was too late.
Awang’s story is a heartbreaking reminder of the silent killer that continues to plague South-East Asia, including Malaysia. According to the World Health Organi-sation, an estimated 59,000 people die from rabies annually, with the majority of cases occurring in Asia and Africa. In South-East Asia, the disease is endemic in several countries, including Malaysia, where an average of 10 to 15 human rabies cases are reported each year. The actual number of cases may be higher due to underreporting and misdiagnosis.
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