Guest guest Posted March 27, 2009 Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 2009: More Bali rabies deaths Jama Asmara, 46, on March 23, 2009 became the eighth human victim of a canine rabies outbreak afflicting southeastern Bali, Indonesia since September 2008. Bitten in November 2008, Jama Asmara reportedly received post-exposure vaccination on November 27, plus a later booster, but skipped two further prescribed boosters because he did not feel ill. Previous Bali rabies victims have included two three-year-olds, a four-year-old, two 32-year-olds, and a 45-year-old. The Bali government has reportedly killed at least 2,000 dogs, mostly with strychnine, and has vaccinated about 20,000 near confirmed rabies cases, using an Indonesian-made vaccine that requires revaccination after only three months. As of late March 2009, Bali officials admitted that they were having difficulty administering revaccinations. Hospitals and clinics were mostly out of human post-exposure vaccine. The Bali government, as first reported in ANIMAL PEOPLE in November/ December 2008, continues to prohibit the Bali Animal Welfare Association and other animal help agencies from either importing up-to-date vaccines good for at least three years, or vaccinating dogs outside the rabies zones. -- Merritt Clifton Editor, ANIMAL PEOPLE P.O. Box 960 Clinton, WA 98236 Telephone: 360-579-2505 Fax: 360-579-2575 E-mail: anmlpepl Web: www.animalpeoplenews.org [ANIMAL PEOPLE is the leading independent newspaper providing original investigative coverage of animal protection worldwide, founded in 1992. Our readership of 30,000-plus includes the decision-makers at more than 10,000 animal protection organizations. We have no alignment or affiliation with any other entity. $24/year; for free sample, send address.] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 27, 2009 Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 Merritt, While I feel Animal People is about as good as it gets in regards to animal reporting, it could be better. Let me use the below article to explain how. To help connect the dots for the clueless (myself included), please explain vague terms. For example ³ 20,000 near confirmed rabies cases.² That¹s a big number if the ³near² means ³yes for sure with just a little doubt² but rather meaningless if it means ³no, not sure at all but the number looks good in print.² Besides vague expressions, animal journalism should go further than the raw facts. For example, the last para of the article leaves one hanging: Why does the Bali gov¹t prohibit? Is there any statement from the government that would shed light on why? Is there a statement from the Bali Animal Welfare Association that would shed light on why? This report eludes to a problem, but never gives us the detail. So with just one or two more sentences and an edit, this article (for example) would have more impact on the clueless. Well, I¹m not picking on your pub, as most news agencies probably would stop the report after the first para or so. But we hold pubs like yours to a higher standard then the mainstream media, as we expect less from them anyway. So I hope this helps during the development of future reports. Good luck! Jigs in Nepal On 3/27/09 5:41 AM, " Merritt Clifton " <anmlpepl wrote: > > > > From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 2009: > > More Bali rabies deaths > > Jama Asmara, 46, on March 23, 2009 became the eighth human > victim of a canine rabies outbreak afflicting southeastern Bali, > Indonesia since September 2008. Bitten in November 2008, Jama > Asmara reportedly received post-exposure vaccination on November 27, > plus a later booster, but skipped two further prescribed boosters > because he did not feel ill. > Previous Bali rabies victims have included two > three-year-olds, a four-year-old, two 32-year-olds, and a > 45-year-old. > The Bali government has reportedly killed at least 2,000 > dogs, mostly with strychnine, and has vaccinated about 20,000 near > confirmed rabies cases, using an Indonesian-made vaccine that > requires revaccination after only three months. As of late March > 2009, Bali officials admitted that they were having difficulty > administering revaccinations. Hospitals and clinics were mostly out > of human post-exposure vaccine. > The Bali government, as first reported in ANIMAL PEOPLE in > November/ December 2008, continues to prohibit the Bali Animal > Welfare Association and other animal help agencies from either > importing up-to-date vaccines good for at least three years, or > vaccinating dogs outside the rabies zones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 27, 2009 Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 >To help connect the dots for the clueless (myself included), please >explain vague terms. For example " 20,000 near confirmed rabies >cases. " " near " means " in the vicinity of. " This item was squeezed in at the very last minute before press time -- I got word of the latest death only about an hour before -- & while in hindsight I agree that " in the vicinity of " would have been more clear, the very limited time & space available dictated using short words & few of them. > For example, the last para of the article leaves one hanging: Why >does the Bali gov't prohibit? Is there any statement from the >government that would shed light on why? Is there a statement from >the Bali Animal Welfare Association that would shed light on why? >This report eludes to a problem, but never gives us the detail. This was thoroughly covered in our previous reportage. The gist of it is that Indonesia is still using a Dutch rabies control protocol that was written in 1926, & the Indonesian officials are under the illusion that rabies can be spread by vaccines. Every leading rabies authority worldwide has told Indonesia to get with it. However, the Bali rabies outbreak is caught up in the politics of the avian flu situation, & that situation is like South Africa & AIDS: official denial, compounded by ignorance, compounded by venality, compounded by stupidity... -- Merritt Clifton Editor, ANIMAL PEOPLE P.O. Box 960 Clinton, WA 98236 Telephone: 360-579-2505 Fax: 360-579-2575 E-mail: anmlpepl Web: www.animalpeoplenews.org [ANIMAL PEOPLE is the leading independent newspaper providing original investigative coverage of animal protection worldwide, founded in 1992. Our readership of 30,000-plus includes the decision-makers at more than 10,000 animal protection organizations. We have no alignment or affiliation with any other entity. $24/year; for free sample, send address.] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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