Boy in Buleleng Dies with Suspected Rabies, Dog Had Bitten Six Others

A boy with the initials GEW (7) has died with suspected rabies. It has emerged that the dog that bit the boy from Bubunan Village, Seririt District, Buleleng, Bali, had previously attacked six residents.

Head of the Buleleng Agriculture, Food Security and Fisheries Agency (PKPP), Gede Melandrat, revealed that the six residents who were attacked earlier by the dog had received the anti-rabies vaccine (VAR). According to him, the series of bites from the same dog was followed up with a mass vaccination drive in Bubunan Village last June.

“This dog had already bitten six people,” said Melandrat on Tuesday (11/8/2026).

The six dog bite victims were Kadek S (65), Ketut S (60), Kadek S (42), Komang SM (41), Gede ED (41), and Made Y (35). Unlike the six previous victims, the bite suffered by GEW was never reported.

Melandrat said the dog was a stray. The animal was known to hide in a warehouse where the victim’s father worked washing cars. According to him, GEW was bitten by the dog when he accompanied his father to the warehouse.

“The victim’s father works washing cars at the warehouse. It happened that the victim accompanied his father to work. That was when the victim was bitten,” he said.

According to Melandrat, the family did not report the incident involving GEW on the grounds that the wound was not considered serious. Even so, the dog that bit the boy and the six other residents was immediately killed by GEW’s father.

This situation meant officers could not take a sample from the dog to confirm the animal’s rabies status. Melandrat expressed regret that GEW’s family did not report the incident to officials.

“What is regrettable is that one person did not receive the vaccine because it was not reported. Whether it was due to ignorance that it was not reported. In fact, at that time we were also carrying out vaccinations based on the reports of these six people,” Melandrat said.

According to him, public reports are crucial in determining the speed of handling rabies cases. Once a bite is reported, he said, officers can provide treatment to the victim while also accelerating vaccination of dogs in the surrounding area.

Currently, the Buleleng Regency Government is strengthening rabies control efforts by placing two veterinarians in every sub-district. They are carrying out vaccinations directly from village to village. Vaccination schedules can also be shifted if an increase in bite cases is found in a particular area.

“The medicine is available, the vaccine is available, everything is available,” Melandrat added.

Melandrat urged residents not to wait for a victim’s condition to worsen after being bitten by a dog. No matter how small the wound, he continued, it must be reported immediately so the victim can receive examination and VAR as soon as possible.

Previously, the boy with the initials GEW died with symptoms pointing to rabies at Buleleng Regional Hospital. Two months before his death, GEW had been bitten by a dog in Bubunan Village, Seririt District, Buleleng Regency, Bali.