The First Known Outbreak Of Rabies In Seals Has Been Identified Along South Africa’s Coast, Affecting Two Dozen Cape Fur Seals
Along South Africa’s coast, an outbreak of rabies in seals was identified. It is the first time the virus has spread among marine mammals, namely in 24 Cape fur seals.
According to state veterinarian Dr. Lesley van Helden, the bodies of the seals were found across the west and south coasts of the country.
Typically, rabies infects land mammals, such as coyotes, foxes, raccoons, jackals, and domestic dogs. That’s why it was so surprising when the deadly virus was detected in seals.
Rabies is spread via saliva, usually through bites or grooming, and can be passed on to humans. Once symptoms appear, it is almost always fatal.
Authorities in South Africa first discovered rabies in Cape fur seals after a dog was bitten by a seal on a Cape Town beach. The dog got infected with rabies, which led to rabies testing on brain samples from 135 seal carcasses that have been collected since 2021. In addition, 20 new samples were collected and tested, so more positives emerged.
The only other known case of a marine mammal with rabies was recorded in the early 1980s in a ringed seal in Norway’s Svalbard islands.
According to researchers, it was likely that the seal was infected by a rabid arctic fox. There was no evidence of rabies spreading among those seals, unlike the recent outbreak in South Africa.
Scientists are trying to figure out how rabies was passed to seals, how widespread it is among their colonies, and how to prevent others from getting infected.
Approximately two million seals migrate between South Africa, Namibia, and Angola along Africa’s south and west coasts. Experts suspect that the seals may have contracted rabies from black-backed jackals in Namibia, where the animals hunt seal pups on the coastline.
jfjacobsz – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual seal
The genetic makeup of the rabies virus found in the seals matched the rabies in the jackals. The study also showed that rabies is being transmitted between seals through bites because most of the virus sequences are closely related.
Cape fur seals live near people in South Africa, especially on beaches around the city of Cape Town.
The discovery of rabies explains why there have been so many reports over the past three years of excessively aggressive seals and an increased number of seal attacks on people.
So far, no human cases of rabies have been recorded. Still, the seal attacks have prompted city authorities to start a vaccination program for seals.
According to Greg Oelofse, Cape Town’s head of coastal and environmental management, the city has issued warnings to locals.
One of the positive rabies tests was on a seal carcass that was collected in August 2022, which means that rabies has been present in the seal population for at least two years.
Seals at two popular Cape Town harbors have begun receiving vaccinations, so hopefully, the rabies can be contained.
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