MARCH 31 marked the last anti-rabies injection of the first phase of Bali's island-wide mass dog vaccination program.

Preliminary statistics reveal a 48 per cent reduction in human rabies deaths from December 1, 2010 to March 30, 2011, compared with the same period the previous year - proving the program's initial success.

In addition, the number of dog rabies cases in Bali has decreased by 45% when comparing the same two periods.

On Thursday last week, representatives from the Bali Animal Welfare Association (BAWA), which played a key assisting role to Bali's provincial government in this program, stood side by side with stakeholders to mark this extraordinary coordinated effort.

Bali's first island-wide vaccination program, which is based on a humane animal welfare approach, began last October as a response to Bali's rabies outbreak.

More than 70 per cent of Bali's 300,000-strong dog population is now vaccinated against the disease. Rabid dogs, unvaccinated dogs bitten by a rabid dog and incurably sick dogs are humanely euthanized.

BAWA's founding director Janice Girardi said 210,000 dogs are now vaccinated in 4126 banjars across Bali.

"While we celebrate this achievement, we also pay our respects to the people of this island who have died of rabies," Girardi said.

"While rabies cases are decreasing, all people still need to remain vigilant and seek post exposure treatment if bitten."

International scientists, disease control experts and organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) also recommend mass vaccination of the animal reservoir species (in Bali's case, this is dogs) as the most effective means of controlling and eradicating rabies. This creates a barrier to the spread of the disease, leading to its eradication.

Girardi said that March 31 marks a special day, because it represents the coming together of stakeholders and a new commitment to run the program again.

"This mass-vaccination program is the only practical and humane solution Bali has for eradicating rabies and preventing more tragic loss of human life in the future," she said.

"And of course, this vaccination program has also saved the lives of many hundreds of thousands of Bali dogs, who would have otherwise been culled with strychnine."

Girardi said BAWA was extremely grateful for the help received from funding partner World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), who provided funds to cover operational expenses and AusAID which provided the vaccines and other supplies for the program.

The program currently employs more than 400 Balinese people, with all field staff having been pre-vaccinated to ensure their health and safety.

Girardi said BAWA's vision was now cast forward to the second phase of vaccinations, which was anticipated to be a coordinated effort with the provincial and central Governments, BAWA and other stakeholders such as WSPA, FAO, WHO and AusAID.

"We are hopeful that the vaccination program will continue until Bali is free of rabies. This may happen after the second phase, but rabies experts predict a third one may also be required in 2012," Girardi said.