The KwaZulu-Natal Agriculture Department is on high alert for human rabies in the province following the death of four people between May and June who died after failing to seek treatment for dog bites. News24 reports that last year, eight people died of rabies in KZN, with the total number of rabies in animals reaching 203.
According to the department, they anticipate a possible increase in both human rabies and rabid dogs in the near future.
The report says the problem is twofold: people who have been bitten do not always seek preventative rabies treatment after being bitten by an animal, and animals are not being vaccinated.
The report says according to Makhathini, key areas of concern include the Ugu District, eThekwini, iLembe, and Zululand, but he said they are continually campaigning there. He said that many people don’t vaccinate their pets because of the costs at private vets or they have transport problems.
“The state is making vaccines available to certain private vets to assist with free vaccinations, but this is area dependant,” he said.
[link url="https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/high-alert-for-rabies-in-kzn-20190805-2"]News24 report[/link]