Recent deaths as a result of rabies are mounting in KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Limpopo and the North West.
About 59,000 deaths are recorded annually by the World Health Organization (WHO).
About 6 people died in August alone in South Africa, 3 in the Eastern Cape, 2 in KwaZulu-Natal and 1 in Gauteng, according to the National Institute of Communicable diseases (NICD).
The Department of Agriculture, is the latest organization to show concern, as holidays approach.
Found in dogs, Cape fur seals and other animals in South Africa, rabies are transmittable via saliva of infected animals through bites, scratches and licks.
The disease can affect the brain and is fatal once a person or animal shows clinical signs, but it can be prevented through vaccination of animals and immediate medical attention in people exposed to an infected animal.
The Department has advised people to stay away from stray animals and not to touch animals they don’t know.
Animals with rabies show changes in behaviour (abnormal behaviour) and signs of disease of the brain.
They may drool a lot, become paralysed, are unable to swallow, continuously vocalise (barking, whining and howling), and become aggressive, or they may just appear weak and in a comatose state.
Any mammal can become infected with rabies, including dogs, cats, livestock, jackals, foxes, mongoose and Cape fur seals.
Even though rabies occur in all nine provinces of South Africa, the disease is common in dogs in KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and Limpopo.
Rabies is also endemic to Cape fur seals found in the Northern Cape, Western Cape and Eastern Cape (up to Algoa Bay).
If a person is bitten, scratched, or licked by an animal suspected to have rabies, they need to wash the wound well with soap and running water and immediately seek treatment at the nearest clinic or hospital to prevent rabies virus infection.
For more information about
rabies post-exposure prophylaxis, visit the NICD website (www.nicd.ac.za/diseasesa-z-index/rabies/).
Map of reported rabies outbreak in 10 years, Department of Agriculture