Rabies is on the rise again in Bali as the disease has already claimed 12 lives this year, a significant increase over last year’s two fatalities and 2013’s one.
The latest case was reported on Monday, as a 24-year-old was suspected to have died from rabies after a puppy bit a finger on his left hand last month. He died at Sanglah Hospital in Denpasar.
“From the clinical symptoms and the fact that the patient had been bitten by a dog, we can conclude that he died of rabies,” head of Bali Provincial Health Agency, I Ketut Suarjaya, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
Suarjaya said that rabies tests could not be conducted on Kartawan because the patient was experiencing seizures, therefore it was too risky to take his blood for the test.
Since 2008 there have been a total of 160 people die from the disease, said the official.
He said rabies has been rising again on the resort island since earlier this year. Prior to that the local government had boasted that this year the province would be free from rabies.
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