Cape fur seals in South Africa test positive for Rabies

[Catherine]

There have been incidents of aggression in Cape Fur seals. Five surfers have been bitten. Their behavior was consistent with rabies, but rabies has not occurred in marine mammals. Four seals were tested for rabies and three of the four tested positive. There are now 17 confirmed cases of rabies in the Cape Fur Seals.
It is unclear what is going to happen. There have been no other outbreaks in seals. The situation is being closely monitored.
 

https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/...ith-rabies

This is serious. Rabies is a fatal disease. The only treatment is prevention. A series of vaccinations must be administered before the disease becomes symptomatic.
The best safeguard is the vaccinate. There are two million Cape Fur Seals spread out over 3000 km of coastline. A vaccination program is not feasible.

Seals living in harbors with regular human contact can be vaccinated. Lifeguards will be on the lookout for aggressive seal behavior.
Hopefully the virus will not spread quickly and the situation can be contained.