Cape Town: South African scientists say they have identified an outbreak of rabies in seals and it is believed to be the first time the virus has spread in marine mammals. Seals are mostly found in the waters of the Arctic and Antarctic, which are extremely cold. Government veterinarian Dr Leslie van Helden said at least 24 Cape fur seals found dead at various locations on the western and southern coast of South Africa were suffering from rabies.
Rabies is fatal
Rabies affects mammals and the virus can be transmitted to humans. Once symptoms appear, it is almost always fatal. Rabies is spread through saliva and usually through animal bites. Halden and other experts said the virus has long been found in wild animals such as raccoons, coyotes, foxes, jackals and domestic dogs. But its spread to marine mammals had never been reported until now.
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The only known case of rabies in a marine mammal was reported in a seal in Norway's Svalbard Islands in the early 1980s. That seal was likely infected by an arctic fox, and there was no evidence of rabies transmission among seals, researchers said.
Rabies in Seals
How did rabies reach the seals?
Officials in South Africa first detected rabies in a Cape fur seal in June, when a dog was bitten by one of the seals on a Cape Town beach. The dog became infected with rabies, prompting researchers to begin testing for rabies in brain samples from 135 seal carcasses already collected in 2021. About 20 new samples were also collected and further tests confirmed more cases. Scientists are now trying to figure out how rabies reached the seals, whether it is spreading widely among them and what can be done to stop it. (AP)
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