Concerns raised over spread of rabies
Recent deaths include a 17-year old male from Izingolweni who died in hospital after being bitten on the leg by a dog and falling ill. Rabies was confirmed by way of a post-mortem.
Following the deaths of four people as a result of human rabies in KwaZulu-Natal this year, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development says it has intensified public education and vaccination efforts to curb the spread of the disease.
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Recent deaths include a 17-year old male from Izingolweni who died in hospital after being bitten on the leg by a dog and falling ill. Rabies was confirmed by way of a post-mortem
Three other incidents occurred in the KwaDukuza and Pietermaritzburg areas where a 4-year old girl, a 50-year old woman and a 38-year old male died from the disease.
According to the department, the signs and symptoms of rabies in humans included fever, vomiting, anxiety, aggression, agitation, confusion, delirium with periods of lucidity, clenching jaws, language disorder, fear of water, bloody vomiting, headaches, and hysteria.
Department spokesperson Mack Makhathini said the last rabies outbreak in KZN was between January and September 2018 which left eight people dead.
He said more than 70 000 dogs and cats have been vaccinated since the department started a massive programme in the province.
Agriculture MEC Bongi Sithole-Moloi said the department was treating the spread of rabies as an emergency and would apply to the national government to declare the disease as such.
“Since where there is rabies, there are bound to be human deaths, we decided to first bolster our vaccination clinics in all the hotspots and treat this as an emergency,” she said.
The national institute for communicable diseases (NICD) urged people to ensure their pets vaccination schedules were up to date and that medical intervention was sought after exposure to a potentially rabid animal.
“Rabies virus infections can be effectively prevented if post-exposure prophylaxis is provided promptly and per national recommendations,” a spokesman from the institute said.
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