File photo for representational purposes only.
Jakarta: Indonesia's Ministry of Health said Tuesday it will coordinate efforts to strengthen rabies vaccination for disease-transmitting animals in endemic regions, stressing that prevention at the animal level is far cheaper than treating human cases.
Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin told parliament that a rabies vaccine for dogs costs about 50,000 rupiah (about 2.79 U.S. dollars), compared with 650,000 rupiah for a human vaccine.
He added that anti-rabies serum used in severe bite cases can cost up to 7.7 million rupiah, far higher than the cost of basic animal vaccination.
The ministry recorded around 91,221 animal-bite cases between January and May 2026, with 79.8 percent of victims receiving anti-rabies vaccines and 0.8 percent receiving serum.
Budi said vaccine and serum stocks remain adequate.
