Arctocephalus pusillus

Candice Van Dam from Instagram.

With the outbreak of rabies in the Cape fur seals in South Africa, could this potentially affect orcas too? Is there a way to prevent this? So, for the first time ever, rabies is spreading through the Cape for seal population in South Africa, sparking fears of a far-reaching pandemic, marine pandemic.

This is only the second time that rabies has been recorded in seals, the first being a single case in Norway in 1980.

In infected animals, the virus caused heightened aggression, disorientation, and within 10 to 14 days, death.

But experts are quickly learning to identify infected animals based on clinic signs.

SeaSearch, a marine-focused NGO in South Africa, is monitoring colonies, performing autopsies on infected individuals, and tracking new cohorts of pups for potential in-utero transmission.

Cape Town's Two Oceans Aquarium is conducting a novel vaccination trial on Cape fur seals in areas where contact with people is most likely, such as harbors and beaches.

Vaccination trials are underway for iterant or wandering seal species, such as elephant and leopard seals, to prevent the spread to other colonies and species.