At one point Bali was known to be completely Rabies free despite all of the wild dogs running around. Within the past couple of years however there have been Rabies outbreaks that have tarnished Bali’s Rabies-free image.
Many tactics have been introduced to try and control the spread of Rabies, with some of them being helpful, some of them not and some being just plain controversial. One of the problems that exists is that since Rabies is still a new disease in Bali, it is largely misunderstood by the majority of local Balinese, both in its severity and in its treatment.
As you may already be aware, the medical services in Bali are not always up to par and the stock of Rabies vaccines on hand can sometimes be in short supply. You would be very smart to vaccinate yourself for Rabies before arriving in Bali. This should be a very easy vaccination to come by in your home country and could end up saving your life.
If you are bitten by a dog, monkey or other sort of animal while you are in Bali and have not yet had the vaccine then you need to go immediately to the nearest hospital. DO NOT wait until you start to see any symptoms because once Rabies begins to show symptoms then it is already too late to treat. Regard every animal as having rabies which means that if you get bitten even by a clean looking dog with a collar on, you should consider him rabid and get yourself vaccinated.
If you plan on owning a dog in Bali, then you MUST have him or her vaccinated for Rabies. This will help to reduce the spread of Rabies on the island and hopefully to return to a Rabies-free state again. The vaccination is available for free so there is really no reason not to have it done. The vaccination can be done either at your local Banjar if they still have a supply of shots, or you can contact BAWA, who will come and vaccinate your dog free of charge.