Rabies a real risk for visitors to Bali

Tourists visiting Bali have been given a new warning about the dangers of catching rabies from stray dogs on the resort island.

There have already been four deaths reported this year from victims of dog bites.

As the government and NGOs work year-round to vaccinate stray, community-owned, and pet dogs, rabies is still prevalent on the island, the Bali Sun reported.

The head of the Health Office, Gianyar Ni Nyoman Ariyuni, said a puppy had been rescued from Sayan Village, just outside of Ubud. It bit a 46-year-old woman who was given the rabies vaccine (VAR).

The puppy later died and a post-mortem confirmed it had rabies.

“Foreigners who are bitten are routinely scheduled to be given VAR three times,” the official said.

There has been talk of culling stray dogs, which are found all over Bali.

The World Health Organisation explains that eliminating or culling a stray or free-roaming dog population does not reduce the risk of rabies and advises mass vaccination as the most impactful and cost-effective method of transmission prevention.

In the year to date there have been four confirmed human rabies deaths in Bali.