DENPASAR (Indonesia) - BALI is set to temporarily halt dog imports to curb an outbreak of rabies on the Indonesian resort island, an official said on Monday.

'We are now drawing up the framework to see how we can effectively carry this out,' Bali provincial government spokesman Nyoman Puasha Aryana said.

'We want to stop dogs from getting in and out of the island so we can stop rabies transmission quickly.'

Mr Aryana was unable to say when the rule would come into effect and for how long it would stand. He said all imports of dogs would be halted until stricter import and export guidelines were drawn up.

Several people on the mainly Hindu island have died from rabies since December, The Jakarta Post reported.

The three areas affected by the outbreak were Jimbaran, Kuta, and Denpasar.

Since December, 10,000 pet dogs had been vaccinated and 1,000 strays had been killed, Mr Aryana said.

'We are still vaccinating and putting down dogs. We must solve this problem quickly,' he said. -- AFP