🦠🦌 Rabies is a fatal viral disease, endemic to Namibia. Any mammal can become infected with rabies, including us humans. The Namibian rabies situation is unique, since the disease can reach epidemic proportions with devastating effects in kudu and eland. In this video you see an eland cow that has rabies. She clearly displays some of the typical rabies symptoms:
🔹 Abnormal behaviour - wild animals often “become tame”, and they literally stray into towns, gardens and homes. Note that domestic animals (dogs, cats) often become wild.
🔹 Nervous symptoms - staggering, hindquarter paralysis, restless, drooling saliva or having difficulty swallowing, biting at objects (real or imaginary), changed tone of voice with abnormal and continuous howling or bellowing.
💥 Once an animal shows symptoms of rabies, there is no return. The animal will die an agonizing death... Therefore, the eland cow in the video was shot.
🔬 When you have a suspected rabies case in wildlife, it is VERY important that you confirm your suspicion. Do not shoot the animal in the head, because for testing, the brain is needed. Once the animal is dead, cut the head off, and wrap it in plastic (wear gloves). Clearly mark it as “hazardous - possible Rabies”, and keep the head cool (NOT frozen!). Contact your vet, and submit the sample to the Central Veterinary Laboratory in Windhoek for a rabies test.
💉 To protect your kudus and eland, the most feasible option is to dart vaccinate them from a helicopter. Ask your neighbours to join, to save on ferry/travel costs. If you work in the field and/or with wildlife, you should seriously consider to get vaccinated against rabies.
❓ If you want to know more about this disease and how to protect your game against rabies, feel free to contact us. Also, have a look at the following articles about rabies on our website:
🔸 Rabies in Kudu and Eland #1: Implications to the game industry
🔸 Rabies in Kudu and Eland #2: Herd immunity in rabies and COVID-19
🔸 Rabies in Kudu and Eland #3: How vaccination leads to immunity
🛈 wildlifevetsnamibia.com/docum...
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