| ■ Rabid dogs roam holiday hotspot, kill at least 78 | 2010.08.20 |
| A rabies epidemic has gripped Bali, an island of 3 million people and one of Asia's top tourist destinations. 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's overwhelmed, with more than 30,000 dog bites reported in just the first half of this year across Bali. In a highly criticized move, officials killed about 200,000 dogs, instead of initially conducting mass vaccinations as recommended by the World Health Organization. "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." |