Warning of rabies outbreak in Cradle of Humankind area after 3 people bitten by rabid honey badger

• Rabies was first diagnosed in five jackals in the Cradle of Humankind area in June and July.
• Last week, three people were bitten by a rabid honey badger in the Kromdraai area and taken to hospital.
• The Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said it will offer free booster vaccinations next week.

The Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said it was dealing with a rabies outbreak after three people, including a woman carrying a baby, were attacked by a honey badger in the Kromdraai area last week.

On Monday, the department said rabies was first diagnosed in five jackals between 26 June and 5 July in the Cradle of Humankind area.

Last week Sunday, a woman carrying a baby on her back was rushed to hospital after being attacked by a honey badger in Kromdraai. The following day two other people were also taken to hospital after being attacked in the same area.

"The honey badger was subsequently killed and taken to the Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute's veterinary diagnostic laboratory, where a positive diagnosis of rabies was made on 27 July.

"The three human bite cases were immediately referred to the Department of Health and National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) to ensure that they ... receive prophylactic treatment, rabies immunoglobulin (RIG) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP)," the department said.

There is no treatment for rabies once a person has developed clinical symptoms. The neurological disease affects the brain and is almost always fatal to both people and animals.

In light of these cases, the department has urged pet owners to vaccinate their cats and dogs against rabies and warned members of the public not to touch any strange animals.

"Any person or domestic pet which has been bitten by a strange animal should immediately contact their local state veterinarian or local government health authority. Pets which [have] not been vaccinated against rabies should immediately be taken to the nearest private veterinarian for a health check and for vaccination," the department said.

The department said it will be running a free booster vaccination campaign in the following areas for three days next week between 14:30 and 16:30 to help contain the outbreak:

"All dogs and cats over the age of three months that were not vaccinated for rabies in the last month must be vaccinated. The public can choose between having the vaccination of their pets done by their private veterinarian or by the state," the department said.