Chronology of Jembrana Resident's Death from Suspected Rabies After Being Scratched by a Stray Cat

The Health and Social Affairs Office (Dinkesos) of Jembrana Regency has disclosed the chronology of the death of a resident of Banjar Kembangsari, Tukadaya Village, Melaya District, Bali. The victim died with suspected rabies after having been scratched by a stray cat. Jembrana Health Office Head I Gusti Bagus Ketut Oka Parwata revealed the victim initially came to the community health centre (puskesmas) on the afternoon of 23 May 2026. At that time, the victim complained of shortness of breath and showed symptoms of hydrophobia, or fear of water. “Because there was information of a history of a bite or attack from a rabies-transmitting animal (HPR), the victim was immediately referred to Negara Regional General Hospital. The status was suspected rabies and was admitted at 18:42 Central Indonesian Time. There, the patient struggled when given drinking water and oxygen; the condition strongly pointed towards signs of rabies,” Oka Parwata explained. The victim’s condition continued to deteriorate whilst receiving treatment at the hospital. On 24 May 2026 at around 02:00 Central Indonesian Time, the victim began to complain and continuously salivated. The victim was subsequently pronounced dead at 03:46 Central Indonesian Time. Following the incident, a medical team immediately conducted an investigation and exposure tracing. The tracing results showed that the victim had been scratched by a stray cat about a month before the symptoms appeared. However, after scratching the victim, the stray cat was immediately killed by residents without being reported to the relevant officers. Consequently, officers were unable to take a brain sample from the animal for laboratory examination. “The cat was killed and was not checked in the laboratory, so we did not get any certainty at all about whether the cat was positive for rabies. Additionally, after being attacked by the stray cat, the victim also did not report it and did not come to a health facility to receive treatment,” Oka Parwata detailed. As a precautionary measure, the Jembrana Dinkesos also carried out close contact tracing and provided medical treatment to the victim’s family. “We have administered VAR (Anti-Rabies Vaccine) to the victim’s closest relatives as a precautionary step,” he added. The Jembrana Dinkesos recorded that cases of bites from rabies-transmitting animals (HPR) in the region are relatively high. In a month, there are an average of about 500 cases of HPR bites on humans, amounting to 3,000 to 4,000 cases per year. The high number of bite cases means health facilities in Jembrana must use up around 1,500 to 1,700 doses of VAR each month for human treatment. Nevertheless, Oka Parwata confirmed that the vaccine stock is still secure. “The VAR vaccine stock is safe until August at all health facilities throughout Jembrana,” he stressed. Learning from the case in Melaya, Oka Parwata urged the public not to ignore wounds resulting from bites or scratches from warm-blooded animals. He emphasised the importance of immediately going to a health facility to receive medical treatment. “The most important thing now is socialisation regarding bite cases. When there is a bite or scratch from an HPR, the public should not hesitate and immediately bring the patient to the nearest health facility to receive medical treatment according to standard operating procedures. This is usually what is ignored or underestimated by the public because they only suffer a small wound, even though the risk of death is very significant,” Oka Parwata concluded.