Durban — Laboratory-confirmed human rabies cases remain at six in South Africa since the start of the year.
This is according to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases’ (NICD) communiqué for July.
“As of June 21, 2023, there have been six confirmed human rabies cases in South Africa this year, with cases identified in the Eastern Cape (three), KwaZulu-Natal (two), and Limpopo (one),” the NICD said.
It said that for the same period last year, 10 human rabies cases had been confirmed, five from the Eastern Cape, two from KwaZulu-Natal, and three from Limpopo, with an additional three probable cases from the Eastern Cape recorded.
“Although rabies is an endemic disease throughout all of South Africa, dog-related cases tend to concentrate in the east of the country involving these provinces.
“The key to eliminating canine-transmitted human rabies is the vaccination of dogs (and cats),” the NICD said.
It said that human rabies is a category 1 notifiable medical condition in South Africa, requiring notification within 24 hours based on clinical suspicion and/or test confirmation.
Last month, the NICD said that rabies was diagnosed in a 37-year-old man from Ginyintsimbi Village, Mbhashe Municipality, Amathole District in the Eastern Cape in June 2023.
“It was reported that he was bitten on the lip by his own dog approximately three weeks prior to the onset of the illness.
“The dog died about a week later but it was reported that there was no attempt to confirm the cause of death. Reportedly, the man self-treated the wound at home and did not attempt to access medical advice and therefore also did not receive rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP),” the NICD said.
“The diagnosis was confirmed through testing of ante-mortem collected saliva samples and RT-PCR testing at the NICD.”
It said that the spread of the rabies virus to people can be prevented by vaccination of domestic dogs (and other pets). Exposure to the rabies virus most often occurs through a dog bite.
When such exposures occur, rabies virus infection can be prevented through PEP. When administered in accordance with the guidelines, rabies PEP is considered safe and effective in the prevention of human rabies.
The NICD said that for more information on rabies disease in humans and how to prevent the disease, go to www.nicd.ac.za.
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