Ting’s photo showing the bite wounds on one of the council’s dog catchers.
SIBU: Two of the Sibu Municipal Council’s (SMC) dog catchers were bitten by dogs today while they were on the job, said its chairman Clarence Ting.
When contacted today, he said the injured workers have been sent to the hospital for treatment.
“The (council’s) dog team driver in his thirties was injured on the arm, while another worker in his late fifties sustained an injury on his ankle and was hospitalised.
“The driver was given outpatient treatment,” he told The Borneo Post.
Meanwhile, in an earlier posting today, Ting reminded all dog owners to keep them in their compound.
“Not only a nuisance, it has become a danger to everyone. We have to stop this!” he lamented.
Ting had also warned of more tragic happenings from dog bites if dog owners continued to let their dogs roam the streets.
He had called for public cooperation to prevent more deaths from rabies by keeping dogs off the streets.
“I am angry to learn that a second victim succumbed to rabies after being bitten by a rabid dog on May 12.
“Those who are dog owners, if we continue our existing habits of letting dogs out on the street, (there will be) more deaths from rabies,” Ting cautioned.
A 62-year-old man had become the latest victim to succumb to rabies in Sarawak.
Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah confirmed in a press statement on Friday that the victim from Sibu died at 7pm on June 23 while receiving intensive care from medical specialists.
He said the victim was bitten by a dog who belonged to his relative on his right calf when visiting his relative’s house in Jalan Sentosa Barat here on May 12.
“The patient died on June 23. He was confirmed to be have been infected with rabies through a laboratory test carried out by the Institute for Medical Research (IMR) on June 25,” said Dr Noor.
The first case of rabies involving human in Sibu this year was on March 8, where a five-year-old girl at Jalan Sentosa here was attacked and bitten by a stray dog on her face, mouth and eyelids.
Dr Noor Hisham had said in a recent statement that the bite wounds were not washed with clean water and soap immediately after the incident. The Health Ministry confirmed that the girl’s death on March 26 was due to rabies.
The second human rabies case here involved a five-year-old boy bitten by a pet dog in Jalan Sanhill Barat on May 24. The boy was reported to be recovering well.