Build a Rabies Treatment Clinic

An officer at the Alas Pala Sangeh tourist attraction applies alcohol to the back of a foreign tourist. The reason is that the blonde foreign traveler was scratched by a monkey while touring the 14 hectare monkey forest.

Head of the Alas Pala Sangeh Tourist Destination Area (DTW) Management, Ida Bagus Gede Pujawan, said that the monkey forest already has standard operational procedures (SOP) for handling monkey scratches and bites. One way is to wash the part of the body that was scratched by the monkey, rub it with alcohol and apply an antiseptic.

This mitigation can be applied to tourists who are scratched by monkeys without causing injury. "If you have a bite wound, you must be given an anti-rabies vaccine (VAR) and that is the service standard here," said Pujawan, Tuesday (28/7/2026).

Data from DTW Alas Pala Sangeh states that in June 2026 there were 11 incidents (tourists being scratched or bitten by monkeys). Meanwhile, the number of tourist visits to the tourist attraction located in Badung Regency in June reached 19,810 tourists.

Meanwhile, from July 1 to 25 there were 29 incidents consisting of 13 tourists being scratched and the rest being bitten by monkeys. However, the number of tourist visits in that period reached 23,113 people.

Data from the Bali Health Service shows that from January to June 2026 the number of cases of animal bites that transmit rabies (HPR) reached 34,561 cases. The number of cases in Badung reached 6,599; Karangasem (4,403); Denpasar (4,214); Buleleng (3,930); Tabanan (3,864); Gianyar (3,834); Jembrana (3,408); Klungkung (2,485); and Bangli (1,824). Monkeys are one of the HPR.

According to Pujawan, the monkeys at Alas Pala Sangeh are not aggressive even when visited by tourists. The primates only scratched or bit when they tried to be held and disturbed by tourists.

DTW Alas Pala Sangeh, Pujawan continued, will build a clinic in the tourist attraction area. Health workers and VAR stock will be supplied by the Abiansemal Community Health Center. "The construction of the clinic is still waiting for approval from the Sangeh Traditional Village," he said.

Meanwhile, so far, tourists who were injured by monkey bites were immediately rushed to the Abiansemal Community Health Center to be injected with VAR. In addition, health workers and monkey forest managers will ask for the identity of the traveler.

Pujawan claims that DTW Alas Pala Sangeh has had zero cases of rabies since the tourist attraction opened in January 1969. The construction of the clinic can ward off concerns about travelers being exposed to rabies while recreation in the monkey forest. "There is definitely a concern about rabies, but it can be minimized with these programs," he said.