Your Work
Where do you work?
2022 - present: Anypets Veterinary Clinic; 2018-2021: Department of Veterinary Services Sarawak
When did you start your work?
2018
What rabies elimination work do you do?
2017: Volunteer at Mass Rabies Vaccination
2018:
1. Establishment of Rabies Laboratory in State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, Department of Veterinary Services Sarawak.
2. Rabies diagnostic test (dFAT, PCR). Assist in disease investigxation cases not limited to field investigation, postmortem, laboratory diagnosis (e.g. parasitology, cytology, etc).
3. Initiative in arranging for myself and Research Officer George Bobby to go to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) Rabies Reference Laboratory: Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency (APQA), Gimcheon, Korea to get ourself trained under professionals; Visit to Singapore NPARK (then AVA) Virus laboratory visit and attachment to Veterinary Research Institute to learn about Rabies laboratory test and hands on and eventually establishing our first Rabies Laboratory test in Sarawak. Arrangement for my colleagues (at Department of Veterinary Services Sarawak at that time) and myself to get ourself competent in diagnosing Rabies in animals at various laboratory.
4. Self-initiative questionnaire at mass vaccination to obtain data in the best method for information dissemination.
2018-2021:
1. Project leader in proposal write up and establishment of Rabies Mobile & Web Application for Department of Veterinary Services Sarawak to aid in better data management for Rabies Elimination work, which eventually leads them to winning an award in 2024.
2. One of the trainers for Rabies sampling and vaccination. Point of reference for Rabies work and cases in Sarawak.
3. Aid in proposal writing and involved in various action plan for Rabies elimination efforts in Sarawak.
4. Aid in arrangement and management for logistics, and vaccine for both Pre-exposure Human Anti-Rabies vaccination Prophylaxis.
5. Rabies awareness talk at various places.
6. Rabies awareness talk via Radio FM at Cityplus FM, Tea FM (ongoing for various topics not limiting to Rabies).
7. Invited planetary speaker for topic titled “Rabies in Sarawak, Challenges and the Way Forward”
55th Annual Scientific Conference of Malaysian Society of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine (MSPTM), InterContinental Hotel, Kuala Lumpur
8. Provide technical consultancy to various organizations, top management including ministers.
2022-2024:
1. Mass Neutering Programme under Sarawak Veterinary Association in Serian.
2. STOP Rabies Programme by Boehringer Ingelheim in 2023 and 2024
3. Join in dog neutering campaign for local council (Kuching South City Council, MBKS and Kota Samarahan Municipal Council, MPKS) and local NGOs (Geng Pusak Jalanan Sarawak, and Street Paws) for cat neutering campaign.
4. Clinic's initiative in own neutering campaign for cats.
5. Clinic's own initiative in providing FOC Cat Rabies vaccination and FOC Dog rabies vaccination (945 animals vaccinated last year foc)
6. Clinic's own initiative in competition for animal welfare and rabies in 2023 world rabies day.
7. Aid in Institute of Health and Community Medicine (IHCM), University of Malaysia, Sarawak (UNIMAS) in sampling for Rabies serum titre test for them to establish research work for Rabies.
8. Advisors for various Rabies plan of action and discussion out of work with various agency (local council, DVSS, Ministry of Health, MLGH, SSPCA, etc).Aid council and SSPCA in budgeting to apply funding for animal welfare work which includes neutering and vaccination.
Your Work in Numbers
Number of animals vaccinated against rabies (last year)1432
Number of animals sterilized (last year) 875
Number of children educated (last year) 0
Number of adults educated (last year) 0
Number of Professionals trained (last year) 0
Number (Other) last year: Rabies sampling, vaccination titre and importance, education and awareness - lost track. done via radio FM, mass voluntary work, educational talk and training of professionals
Your Work's Impact
Establishment of competent Rabies laboratory test in Sarawak which aids in faster and more accurate diagnosis in Sarawak for better control and elimination measures. This diagnostic tool provides reliable and timely results, which are crucial for the effective management and control of rabies outbreaks. By offering precise identification of rabies virus in clinical samples, the test enhances diagnostic capabilities, supports prompt decisions, and improves surveillance data. Diagnostic tests strengthens overall rabies control programs, aiding in the rapid containment of outbreaks and contributing to the broader goal of rabies eradication.
Aid in proposal and write up for budget, planning for Rabies Elimination work in Sarawak. Pathing a way for them for more efficient and better Rabies Elimination work.
Establishment of Rabies application significantly catalyst rabies elimination efforts by providing a streamlined platform for tracking, reporting, and managing rabies cases. This digital tool facilitates real-time data collection and analysis, enabling more effective Rabies monitoring, surveillance and control. By integrating information from various sources, the application helps in identifying high-risk areas, optimizing resource allocation, and coordinating response efforts more efficiently. Ultimately, it accelerates the progress towards rabies elimination.
Occasional Rabies awareness talk at Radio FM (which includes social media videos) to remind and educate public that Rabies is still in Sarawak and preventive measures. Busting the myth and reminding. By reaching a wide audience, the talk increases community knowledge about rabies transmission, symptoms, and the importance of vaccination for pets, potential indirect exposure, and how to avoid them being bitten. This outreach effort not only raises awareness but also fosters proactive health behaviors, ultimately contributing to reduced rabies incidents and promoting a safer, more informed community.
Since FOC anti-rabies vaccination and neutering campaign efforts by Government only available for dogs, I have initiated in doing subsidised neutering campaign and FOC Rabies Vaccination for cats in Sarawak. In 2023 when there is a surge in cat & dog bite cases in Kuching, I have provided FOC core and anti-rabies vaccination for cats from November to December 2023 which resulted in 945 animals vaccinated within that period. This has helped owner with multiple cat household which unable to afford the vaccination fee for all their pets to bring down rabies cases in cats in the area.
Tried various method in educating public on Rabies not limiting to verbal communication, social media presence, competition for Rabies awareness in conjunction with world rabies day. This approach gave me insights into real situation of information dissemination that I can record and inform to the government organisation for better Rabies Elimination work.
Partners
Government partners
Department of Veterinary Services Sarawak, Ministry of Public Health, Housing and Local Government (MLGH), Sarawak Forestry Cooperation (SFC), Sarawak Forestry, Sarawak State Health Department (MOH), Department Of Veterinary Services, various local councils, Unit Komunikasi Awam Sarawak (UKAS), Jabatan Penerangan Malaysia, Unit Hal Ehwal Agama-Agama Lain (UNIFOR), etc.
Government collaboration:
since 2017
NGO Partners
Sarawak Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals (SSPCA), Geng Pusak Jalanan Sarawak, Street Paws
NGO collaboration:
sspca - since 2018 (6 years); other NGOs since 2021 (3 years)
Other partners
UKAS, Tea FM, Cityplus FM
Other collaboration: since 2018
Innovations and Learnings
What is innovative about your approach?
The "World Rabies Day Awareness Social Media Post Competition 2023" was organized by our clinic to promote responsible pet ownership and rabies prevention through social media. This initiative serves as a pilot project to evaluate the effectiveness of this approach, which we hope to recommend to government authorities for broader implementation.
Lessons learned (Positive)
The "World Rabies Day Awareness Social Media Post Competition 2023" Provided valuable insights for us. What we have learn includes:
Enhanced Engagement: The competition effectively engaged a wide audience, proving that social media is a powerful platform for raising awareness and encouraging community involvement.
Creative Impact: Participants created impactful and informative content, demonstrating how creative social media posts can effectively communicate important health messages. Its also a measure for us to determine what do public view Rabies as.
Community Connection: The initiative fostered community collaboration, as people united to support and share knowledge on rabies prevention.
Data-Driven Insights: Offering valuable data for assessing the potential of similar initiatives on a larger scale.
Expansion Potential: The successfulness of this pilot project suggests that social media campaigns could be scaled up, potentially driving positive changes in public awareness and behaviour regarding responsible pet ownership and Rabies awareness.
Overall, the competition showed that leveraging social media can be a potential and effective tool for public health advocacy.
Lessons learned (Negative)
Limited Reach: Some posts failed to engage a broad audience, suggesting that not all content effectively reached or resonated with viewers. The varying quality of submissions highlighted the need for clearer guidelines and support to ensure impactful content from all participants.
Variable Engagement: While some posts were highly engaging, others received minimal interaction, indicating a need for more effective engagement strategies.
Attractive Incentives: The prizes offered, such as free rabies vaccines, free neutering, prevention prophylaxis (nexgard combo, nexgard spectra sponsor by clinic) and pet products, were not enticing enough to motivate widespread participation.
Resource Constraints: Limited time and resources impacted our ability to provide comprehensive feedback and support.
Measurement Difficulties: Evaluating the true impact of individual posts proved challenging, raising up the need for better measurement and evaluation methods.
From those insights we learnt, this year we have refine our strategies for the upcoming World Rabies Day initiative, aiming for more effective engagement and outreach.
** All information adapted from the submitted nomination form**