Rabies Is Now A Seal Problem

I recently read an interesting story in a Science article by the NY Times. Emily Anthes has a post dated July 25, 2024 entitled: ‘Rabies is Spreading in South African

Seals, Scientists Say’.

I say interesting because I always thought the disease was limited to dogs, bats or raccoons. This, apparently, is not the same variety as we see in dogs. Add to that the fact that it is never seen in marine life and we have a real puzzle.

Deaths in Cape seals have been happening steadily since 2021. But the thought it was rabies never occurred to anyone till now. And yet, the symptoms like aggressive behaviour was quite evident.

Research by Sea Search Research and Conservation revealed this incredible result. But the type of rabies comes from wildlife. With all of this revealed, you have to wonder if our wildlife is becoming to scary to deal with.

Animals are acting differently due to changes in the environment, maybe even global warming and that is affecting all life. The fact that bird flue is already an issue in animals, even domestic ones like cows, makes you think twice.

Now that seals are interacting and this is a threat, they are vaccinating those they can reach for the rabies. But so many more will die since this is a fatal disease and that means what comes in contact with them could mean transmission.

We know it is usually in the bite where it can be transferred, it sits in the saliva. Something so fluid could be transferred into the ocean and how do we know if it could be transmitted that way?

I mention this because we often see You Tube videos of people rescuing animals in the wild and since there is so much we do not know, I think caution should be used when handling them. There is so much more to learn. But being careful has to be part of our strategy. And now, we have to add seals to the list.