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The South African Veterinary Association (SAVA) said the Eastern Cape is grappling with what it said is a concerning rise in positive rabies cases since 2021.
The organisation's manager and director Claudia Cloete said between Nelson Mandela Bay and Buffalo City Metro alone, at least 24 cases were recorded up until March 2024.
She also said that in 2022, a staggering 17 people died due to rabies, four of whom were children under the age of 10.
Cloete said their goal is to have zero human deaths by 2030.
She said the primary goal is to vaccinate at least 400,000 dogs and cats within a three-year timeframe.
SAVA is a voluntary organisation representing the interests of registered veterinarians and managed a rabies vaccination campaign in Gqeberha which it said had shown promising results in mitigating the spread of the disease.
“Buoyed by the success of the project in Gqeberha, efforts are now underway to extend this initiative across the entire province.
“Funding from a UK charity (Battersea) has been secured to roll out the campaign, with a focus on vaccinating cats and dogs to curb the transmission of rabies,” the organisation said in a statement.
The project has commenced with the initial deployment of eight Animal Health Technicians, organized into three teams. Each team, comprising two members per vehicle, has been assigned the crucial responsibility of administering vaccinations at strategic sites.
'NEARLY 100% FATAL'
Two teams are dedicated to operations in Nelson Mandela Bay Metro and two teams are based in the Buffalo City Metro area.
SAVA says rabies is a zoonotic, vaccine-preventable viral disease that causes damage to the brain and spinal cord in infected animals and humans.
A zoonotic disease is a disease that can be transmitted between animals and humans.
The rabies virus is spread to humans and other animals through contact with saliva of infected animals.
Bites or scratches or licks to wounds, grazes, broken skin, or to the lining of the mouth and nose are examples of unsafe contact.
Most human rabies cases in South Africa are linked to rabid domestic dogs.
Rabies is nearly 100% fatal once symptoms appear, but can successfully prevented through the application of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), which includes thorough wound washing and the administration of the rabies vaccine with or without rabies immunoglobulin (RIG).
Educational materials such as posters and booklets are distributed and talks given at schools to raise awareness about rabies prevention and the importance of vaccination.
Cloete had somewhat encouraging words: “The outbreak has been brought mostly under control, but we do know that there must be a large number of cases that we are not aware of.”
