STAFF WRITER
THE Directorate of Veterinary Services in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform have issued a red alert over possible rabies outbreak in the lagoon area of the coastal city of Walvis Bay.
A statement released by chief state veterinarian Johannes Shoopala confirmed that a case of rabies has been detected in a Cape fur seal at Walvis Bay.
“The Cape fur seal was observed with clinical signs highly suspected to be of Rabies on 13 June 2025, succumbed to the disease and was sampled on 14 June 2025.
“The Central Veterinary Laboratory in Windhoek tested and confirmed the seal positive of Rabies on 16
June 2025.Rabies is a fatal disease caused by neurotropic viruses of the Genus Lyssavirus in the
family Rhabdoviridae and is transmissible to all mammals with a 100% mortality,” he said.
Namibia is a popular destination for seal culling.
Shoopala said the disease is commonly transmitted by a bite of a rabid animal and saliva of a warm-blooded infected host.
“In humans,rabies is almost invariably fatal if post-exposure prophylaxis is not administered prior to the onset of symptoms. The disease is endemic in Namibia and the most common source of exposure of humans to rabies virus is the dog,” Shoopala said.
Shoopala said this is the first case of a seal reported in Namibia, although South Africa has first reported Rabies in Cape fur seals in June 2024.
“We would like to urge the public, to be on the lookout for any of the following signs/symptoms in Cape
fur seals and report to the nearest Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform (State
veterinary office),” Shoopala said.
Shoopala added that the common signs of rabies are aggressive behaviour, uncoordinated movement among others.
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