The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has issued an alert over the sudden spike in the number of canine specific rabies cases in KwaZulu-Natal.
Reports suggest that the disease has claimed over 13 lives around the country since the beginning of this year.
Principal Senior Medical Scientist at the NICD, Dr. Jacqueline Weyer, says there is a need for pet owners to vaccinate dogs to avoid further deaths.
Weyer says, “We have seen a dramatic rise in the number of dog rabies cases in eThekwini, but other areas of KZN. The Eastern Cape is also affected, specifically the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality and we talking about doubling the number of dog rabies cases in your areas. Remember, rabies is an infection of the brain and it is very fatal. So we have to prevent the disease because we cannot cure the disease.”
Eastern Cape
In September, the rabies outbreak in the Eastern Cape led to the death of two people over the past week.
To date, the province has recorded 70 rabies cases, mostly in Gqeberha, while some are in the Buffalo City Metro and Amathole region.
VIDEO: SABC reporter, Lerato Fekisi has more details:
