Community Pet Health Socialization and Education on Rabies Awareness was led by the Udayana University One Health Collaborating Center (OHCC), held at the office of the Perbekel (Village Head) of Rendang Village, Jalan Surya Indah Number 7, Rendang District, Karangasem Regency, Bali, on Friday (25/11/2022) at 09:00 WITA.

The implementation of the socialization and education was attended by the Perbekel of Rendang Village, I Nengah Kariasa; the Chair of Udayana OHCC, represented by Ni Putu Shinta Utami; the Head of the Rendang Community Health Center (Puskesmas), Dr. I Made Sudarmayasa; the Head of Rabies Control, I Nengah Ardanayasa; the Coordinator of the Rendang Health Service Post, Drh. I Wayan Gunawan; as well as community representatives from each Banjar (hamlet), who were present at the Perbekel office of Rendang Village.

This educational presentation was intended so that the community can understand and participate in successfully supporting the pet health program.

As is known, rabies is a deadly zoonotic disease transmitted from animals to humans and other mammals through licks or bites from animals infected with the Lyssavirus genus virus, and it attacks the central nervous system.

Rabies itself has become epidemic and, to date, has spread to 26 out of 37 provinces in Indonesia. Bali Province is one of the provinces with the highest incidence of rabies in Indonesia.

Therefore, the community's role in handling rabies transmission is necessary, considering that rabies is a zoonotic disease that develops within the community. Thus, preventing the spread of rabies can be achieved by:

• Building public awareness that keeping pets means being responsible for them.

• Increasing public awareness of pets suspected of having the rabies virus.

• Maintaining environmental cleanliness in residential areas.

When met by the media crew after the socialization and education event, the OHCC representative, Ni Putu Shinta Utari Dewi, commonly called Shinta, explained that,

"The One Health Collaborating Center is a health institution collaborating with Udayana University, where OHCC itself is a One Health study center, meaning an institution concerned with the health of both humans and animals. This One Health institution is spread throughout Indonesia with its head office in Jakarta. That is why we came to the Rendang, Karangasem area to provide education to the public regarding health issues, one of which is rabies. Through this educational activity, it is hoped that the people of Rendang can increase their rabies awareness and concern in handling their pets," said Shinta.

In line with Shinta, one of the speakers, who is also the coordinator at the Rendang Health Service Post, UPTD Puskeswan (Animal Health Center Technical Implementation Unit) of Karangasem Regency, Drh. I Wayan Gunawan, stated that this educational activity aims to socialize how to properly and correctly maintain HPR (Rabies Transmitting Animals). This goal is so that the public can participate in successfully supporting rabies vaccination.

"We must realize that until now, public participation is still very low because they are not yet fully aware of how dangerous rabies is and what they should do with their pets. That is what I emphasize more, how we can synergize between the community, village officials, and related agencies in the implementation of rabies vaccination," he explained.

The Head of the Rendang District Community Health Center (Puskesmas), Dr. I Made Sudarmayasa, a speaker in this activity, also added that,

"In this activity, I hope the community can get information through the distribution of books about rabies that are provided. This means, how we can, as much as possible, prevent the risk of rabies transmission by paying attention to pets, especially dogs. Of course, the attention we give also includes regular vaccination once a year," he said.

Meanwhile, the student representative from Udayana University, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health study program, Sahara Putri Ayu Kenanga Gunawan, explained that,

"OHSC (One Health Student Club) is a study group focused on human, animal, and environmental health. And for the first time, the Zeroh Program (Zero Rabies for One Health) is pioneering the call for 'Rabies-Free Bali' from the millennial generation in Bali. Rendang Village is one of the villages with the highest number of bite cases in Karangasem Regency. That is why today, the implementation of the 'Pet Health Book Education, Rabies-Aware Community' activity in Rendang Village, using Module Books and infographics as media, which were creatively made by Zeroh, received extraordinary enthusiasm and welcome from the cadres of each Banjar in Rendang Village. Likewise, the UPTD Puskesmas of Rendang District helped enliven the event atmosphere, which was full of spirit to jointly tackle rabies cases in Bali, especially in Rendang Village," said Sahara.

Sahara also hoped that students from several other universities could synergize with each other through OHSC.

"My hope is that OHSC from Udayana University, Gadjah Mada University, Airlangga University, University of Indonesia, and Syiah Kuala University, Banda Aceh, will synergize with each other, collectively improving public health standards through One Health, and may the Zeroh Education Program be sustainable," she hoped.