3,000 dogs vaccinated

SAMARINDA, East Kalimantan: The provincial government embarked on a two-week anti-rabies campaign Saturday, providing vaccinations for 3,000 pet dogs.

Deputy governor Said Abdurrachman said the campaign aimed at making East Kalimantan rabies-free. Rabies, commonly transmitted by infected dogs, remains a "dreadful problem" in the province.

The latest report of rabies was reported when a man suffering the disease was admitted to the hospital in 1991.

The government has planned to make the region free of the disease within five years, Antara reported.

Official statistics show that there are an estimated 70,000 dogs, either pets or wild, in East Kalimantan.(pan)