KUCHING, Oct. 19 -- A 29-year-old plantation worker in Sebauh, Bintulu died of rabies at the Bintulu Hospital on October 12, according to the Sarawak State Health Department (JKNS).

With this latest casualty, the department said the number of human rabies cases reported in Sarawak so far this year stood at five.

"On October 8, the patient began to experience chest pain and was admitted to Bintulu Hospital on October 10. He exhibited hydrophobia, aphasia, hypersalivation and difficulty swallowing while in the hospital ward, and was confirmed dead on October 12," JKNS said in a statement today.

JKNS said investigations revealed that the patient had been bitten by a stray when he tried to tend to a puppy that had suffered injuries after b...