Rabies Is Spreading in South African Seals, Scientists Say
For the last three years, scientists in South Africa have been trying to unravel a grim marine mystery: What was happening to the Cape fur seals?
The boisterous marine mammals, which are common along the nation’s shores, began washing up dead in enormous numbers. Pregnant females delivered dead premature pups. And some seals began displaying unusually aggressive behavior, attacking humans, dogs and each other.
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In recent weeks, however, another specter has come into focus: rabies.
So far, 17 seals have tested positive for the virus, said Tess Gridley, a founding director of Sea Search Research and Conservation, who has been investigating the seal deaths. The cases, which date back to at least August 2022 and span hundreds of miles of coastline, may be the first sustained rabies outbreak ever documented in marine mammals.
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Viral samples from the infected seals suggest that the marine mammals were infected with a canine version of the virus, said Dr. Lesley van Helden, a state veterinarian at the Western Cape Department of Agriculture. In South Africa, this form of rabies is present not only in domestic dogs but also in wild bat-eared foxes and black-backed jackals.
Rabies Is Spreading in South African Seals, Scientists Say
For the last three years, scientists in South Africa have been trying to unravel a grim marine mystery: What was happening to the Cape fur seals?
The boisterous marine mammals, which are common along the nation’s shores, began washing up dead in enormous numbers. Pregnant females delivered dead premature pups. And some seals began displaying unusually aggressive behavior, attacking humans, dogs and each other.
...
In recent weeks, however, another specter has come into focus: rabies.
So far, 17 seals have tested positive for the virus, said Tess Gridley, a founding director of Sea Search Research and Conservation, who has been investigating the seal deaths. The cases, which date back to at least August 2022 and span hundreds of miles of coastline, may be the first sustained rabies outbreak ever documented in marine mammals.
..
Viral samples from the infected seals suggest that the marine mammals were infected with a canine version of the virus, said Dr. Lesley van Helden, a state veterinarian at the Western Cape Department of Agriculture. In South Africa, this form of rabies is present not only in domestic dogs but also in wild bat-eared foxes and black-backed jackals.
Rabies Is Spreading in South African Seals, Scientists Say