Cape Town - The recent detection of rabies in a seal at Big Bay has caused concern as it’s the only case in southern Africa.

Rabies was confirmed in a Cape fur seal bitten by a dog in Bloubergstrand last week, with more suspected positive results received for seals sampled at Strand on May 15 and Muizenberg on May 26.

The suspected results mean the seals tested positive from a test not officially accredited, and while they are highly likely to have come from rabid animals, they cannot be reported as positive cases.

The Western Cape Department of Agriculture said anyone bitten by a seal should immediately seek medical attention.

“The Western Cape Veterinary Services, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment, City of Cape Town Coastal Management, and other partners are working to establish the origin and extent of the outbreak through further sampling and testing. Once determined, a management plan will be formulated. Rabies has not been detected in seals in southern Africa, and this is one of very few detections in seals worldwide,” the department said.

Cape of Good Hope SPCA spokesperson Belinda Abraham said the detection of rabies in seals was “uncharted territory”.

“There is only one confirmed case of rabies in a seal ever documented, and this was in Norway where a seal colony lived near a population of wild foxes. This is largely uncharted territory and the SPCA will need to take direction from experts,” she said.

The SPCA is currently embarking on ongoing rabies vaccination drives.

“We’re doing additional vaccination drives street by street in the Ocean View area. Rabies vaccinations are offered free of charge,” Abraham said.

Rabies is transmitted through direct contact, including licking, scratching and biting.

The department meanwhile said the source of the infection in the province was being investigated.

Rabies is not endemic in wild animals in the City of Cape Town, with the closest wildlife cases in the past reported in the Paarl area.

yanga.yose@inl.co.za

Cape Argus