Cape Town: City of Cape Town gave an update on the rabies disease spreading in Cape Fur Seals and confirmed the increasing cases in the town. Currently there are five confirmed cases of rabies in Cape Fur Seals.
Representatives of City of Cape Town from Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Western Cape Government, South African National Parks, Cape of Good Hope SPCA, Sea Search, Two Oceans Aquarium and a number of veterinary experts and pathologists, independent marine mammal experts, vets and seal researchers along with the inter-governmental committee has established their collaboration to work better and understand better scale and extent of rabies prevalence in the Cape Fur Seal population and to devise and implement a range of management interventions.
Reportedly, the first rabies case in a Cape Fur Seal was confirmed and announced by the Western Cape Department of Agriculture Veterinary Services and was affirmed by the State Vet on Friday, June 07, 2024.
As per the updates, there were seven confirmed cases of rabies in Cape Fur Seals with the earliest current case, being that of a seal in October 2023. It is imperative to note that only the cases confirmed and communicated as such by either the State Vet or the Western Cape Department of Agriculture Veterinary Services should be considered accurate and factual.
There is no cause for panic as rabies is new in Cape Fur seals, it is endemic in many wildlife populations in South Africa. The cases were detected in seals in regions of Blouberg, Strand, Muizenberg, Fish Hoek, Pringle Bay, Plettenberg Bay and Pearly Beach, as the public health information provided, applies to all coastlines where Cape Fur seals occur.
All the public health advice on rabies will be provided by the Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness in consultation with the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD).
The current public health advisory released is that rabies vaccination is not advised in the general public but anyone bitten by a seal must seek immediate medical assistance and get Post Exposure Prophylaxis.
All responses to seals that come ashore and meet the definition of the case of rabies, will be undertaken by trained staff in uniform from permitted institutions using appropriate equipment with due consideration of public safety and animal welfare.
Seals are a normal part of the coastline and one should expect to see seals on the shore line and expect to see seal carcasses on the shoreline. These do not equate to or are the result of rabies.
