Cape Town Is Dealing with Rare Rabies Outbreak in Seal Population: 'We Think Quite a Few People Have Been Bitten'

The popular beach community of Cape Town, South Africa, is currently dealing with a "concerning" number of seals contracting rabies.

“We believe this to be the first spread of rabies within a marine mammal population and that is concerning for us,” Cape Town’s coastal manager Gregg Oelofse said, per CNN.

So far, Cape Town has recorded 11 positive cases, Oelofse told the outlet. The virus caused officials to issue an alert in June to travelers and residents, saying they “are urged to be cautious when visiting our coastline.” 

While there have been no confirmed cases of infected seals transmitting rabies to humans, Oelofse confirmed to The Guardian that some of the animals are believed to have bitten beachgoers.

“We think quite a few people have been bitten by rabid seals, but luckily no human has got infected yet,” he said. “We don’t know why. Perhaps the transfer rate is low?"

Rabies can be deadly for humans, as well as animals. According to the Mayo Clinic, “Once a person begins showing signs and symptoms of rabies, the disease nearly always causes death.”

Anyone who has been bitten should receive a vaccine for protection, the Mayo Clinic adds. The virus — which initially causes flu-like symptoms, and then progresses to hallucinations, partial paralysis, and fear of drinking water — is usually spread through the bite of an infected animal like bats, coyotes, foxes, raccoons, skunks, and stray dogs. 

Rabies can also have a longer incubation period in humans. The National Library of Medicine notes that symptoms can appear between one week to two years after infection. This makes it vital for anyone who has been bitten by an animal to be tested.

As for the outbreak in Cape Town, Oelofse told CNN, “We don’t know yet where it started. They are genetically sequencing the rabies virus found. We will know when they are done with that.”

Although Oelofse told CNN that they haven’t had a case of a human contracting rabies from a seal bite, ”We have a lot of people that are coming into contact with seals daily such as surfers, kayakers, scuba divers and others.”  

The aggressive behavior has caused those in the Cape Town surf to react quickly when they see a seal.

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“I was out surfing the other day, when this seal popped up in the lineup [of surfers] to sun itself,” Oelofse, said to The Guardian. “Usually, surfers would enjoy the interaction. But now everyone was paddling as fast as they could to get away.”