Rabies Outbreak Attacks Seals In Cape Town

JAKARTA - Coastal residents in Cape Town, South Africa, were made alert after the rabies outbreak attacked adorable marine animals, fur seal.

"This is the first case of rabies spread in marine mammals and this is worrying for us," Gregg Oelofse, Cape Town's head coast manager, told CNN.

Rabies in sea dogs is rare. In fact, this case was only recorded once in 1980 in the Slorbard Islands, Norway.

As a city with dozens of beaches and coastlines of 300 kilometers, Cape Town is home to thousands of hairy sea dogs.

"Mirisnya, sebanyak 11 laut di Cape Town telah dinyatakan positif rabies," ungkap Oelofse.

Even so, Oelofse appealed to residents to remain calm. He explained that the death of marine dogs on the coast was a natural thing. Although "many" of the marine dogs were found stranded this week, most of the deaths were natural, not rabies.

Oelofse added that laboratory investigations are being carried out to find out how marine dogs can be infected.

"We don't know where this rabies came from. Currently, the rabies virus found is undergoing genetic sequencing. We will know when it is finished," he explained.

The Western Cape provincial health department previously issued a rabies risk warning to residents last June. The warning puts the "potential rabies case along the coastline of a marine dog."

Authorities confirmed seven rabies cases in marine dogs from seven beaches in Cape Town and Western Cape in late June. The first cases were detected in October 2023.

"There is no need to panic, even though the new rabies is for hairy sea dogs, this disease already exists in other wildlife populations in South Africa," the Cape Town authorities said at the time.

The death of a marine dog in the area is nothing new. In November 2021, nearly 200 marine dogs were buried in a day for alleged malnutrition.

Rabies is an infectious virus disease that attacks the brain and the central nervous system. This disease is almost always deadly once the symptoms appear.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said that dogs are the main source of rabies transmission to humans. The virus is transmitted through animal bites or scratches and takes 3-12 weeks to show symptoms.

Oelofse emphasized that there have been no cases of rabies transmission from marine dogs to humans in Cape Town. City authorities are also trying to prevent it.