Rabies kills Maluku children

Rabies kills Maluku children

AMBON, Maluku: The United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef)
expressed on Monday grave concern about a rabies epidemic in
Maluku province, where 11 people have died from the animal-borne
disease since 1999.

Unicef Ambon branch chief Willy Kumurur said children in Ambon
had faced numerous threats since the outbreak of violent
sectarian clashes in the Maluku archipelago in January 1999.

Among the health problems threatening children on the island
was the spread of rabies, with 540 documented cases since January
19, 1999. The illness has killed at least 11, most of them
children.

Kumurur noted that while Unicef was concentrating on helping
the Ambon government with health and education programs, it had
no expertise in carrying out anti-rabies campaigns, which are
usually the responsibility of the World Health Organization.
--DPA