By NewsDesk  @bactiman63

In a follow-up on the human rabies situation in South Africa, the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) reported  an additional six cases of human rabies in October and November, bringing the total to seventeen laboratory-confirmed human rabies cases reported in the country.

Rabies
A canine suspected of being rabid that had been exhibiting signs of restlessness, and overall uncharacteristic aggressive behavior, which are two symptoms of rabies.
Image/CDC

The cases have been reported from Eastern Cape (n=9), KwaZulu-Natal (n=4) and Limpopo (n=4) provinces.

Rabies cases are typically reported annually in South Africa; however, the occurrence of cases in these provinces has increased compared to previous years.  This compares to eight laboratory-confirmed cases for 2020, ten for 2019, sixteen for 2018, six for 2017 and one for 2016. During these years cases were also mostly reported from the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo provinces.

The increased number of human cases is related to outbreaks of rabies in domestic dogs in the affected provinces. In the Eastern Cape, particularly the Nelson Mandela Bay and Buffalo City districts, more than 400 cases of rabies in dogs have been confirmed for 2021 up to 18 November. In KwaZulu Natal, the eThekwini and King Cetshwayo districts have been most affected with nearly 300 cases of rabies in dogs reported up to 18 November. The first occurrence of dog rabies cases in the Cape Town area in decades have also been reported in recent months. A total of four dog cases were reported from Khayelitsha and Gordon’s Bay. No additional cases have been reported since mid-October 2021. To date, no human rabies cases have been reported from the Western Cape province.

For more about rabies, check out the video below: