Published Date: 2010-10-01 16:22:09
Subject: PRO/EAFR> Rabies, canine, human - South Africa (02): (KwaZulu-Natal)
Archive Number: 20101001.213701

RABIES, CANINE, HUMAN - SOUTH AFRICA (02): (KWAZULU-NATAL)
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Date: Thu 30 Sep 2010
Source: South African Broadcasting Cooperation (SABC) [edited]
http://www.sabcnews.com/portal/site/SABCNews/menuitem.5c4f8fe7ee929f602ea12ea1674daeb9/?vgnextoid=94b28e7be316b210VgnVCM10000077d4ea9bRCRD&vgnextfmt=default


The KwaZulu-Natal government is concerned about the spread of rabies in the province. The provincial Department of Agriculture says 2 people have died from the disease -- one on the south coast and one on the north coast -- since April this year [2010].

About 147 dogs have died of rabies during the same period. Manager for Veterinary Services, Dumisani Mtshali, says they are doing their utmost to contain the spread of the disease.

"We are still appealing to pet owners to bring their animals to our vaccination points whenever we make a call. The vaccines are free, and they do not interfere with the hunting ability of their dogs," says Mtshali.

There has also been a rabies outbreak among dogs in the greater Johannesburg area over the past 3 weeks. A young Johannesburg girl has died, possibly after contracting rabies, Gauteng Agriculture and Rural Development MEC Nandi Mayathula-Khoza said on Monday [27 Sep 2010]. The child, aged under 10 from Dobsonville, Soweto, died on Saturday [25 Sep 2010] at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital after being scratched by an unvaccinated domestic puppy. She had displayed symptoms similar to those of rabies.

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[This report corroborates the information in the recent posting on rabies in South Africa by the general ProMED-mail list [archive number: 20100928.3519], which indicated that all the isolates from the current rabies outbreak in Gauteng Province have been identified as canid biotype, originating from KwaZulu province. The report indicates that a total of 147 dogs and at least 2 persons have succumbed to the disease in KwaZulu-Natal since April this year [2010]. The interventions here [KwaZulu-Natal], however, involve passively inviting pet owners to bring their pets for vaccination as opposed to the house-to-house vaccinations and awareness campaigns instituted in response to the rabies outbreak in Gauteng. The authorities in KwaZulu-Natal may need to adopt some of these measures to prevent the outbreak from spreading further.

The HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map of South Africa can be accessed at
http://healthmap.org/r/09RP. - Mod.CP]

See Also

Rabies, canine, human - South Africa: (Gauteng) susp. 20100928.213608
Rabies, human - Angola (3) 20100520.207478
Rabies, human - Angola (02): (Bie) 20100414.206756
Rabies, human - Angola 20100411.206684
Rabies, canine, human - Ghana: (Upper East) 20100406.206570
Rabies, animal, human - Namibia: update 20100307.205986

For background information on rabies available from the general ProMED-mail list, the postings below can be found athttp://www.promedmail.org.

Rabies - South Africa (02): (GT) canine, human susp. 20100928.3519
Rabies, human, canine - South Africa (GG) susp. 20100927.3504
Rabies (EBLV) - Sweden: bat surveillance 20100927.3502
Rabies update - USA (16): September 2010 20100927.3499
Rabies - China: (GI) counterfeit human vaccine 20100927.3498
Rabies, vampire bat, human - Peru (05): bat vaccine, RFI 20100925.3463
Rabies, vampire bat, human - Peru (04): (AM) 20100924.3459
Rabies, human - Indonesia (14): (BA) canine vaccination 20100922.3423
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From promed-eafr-bounces@promedmail.org Fri Oct 1 16:43:11 2010