Emily Chan
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.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
