Rabies has been diagnosed in Cape seals in South Africa, with evidence of virus transmission from jackals to seals and subsequent spread within the seal population.
Eighty-five positive cases of rabies were detected in Cape seals between March 2023 and November 2025 along the coasts of the Northern and Western Cape provinces. A domestic dog also tested positive, with the virus clustered with that of the seals, confirming seals as the likely source of infection.
Phylogenetic analysis suggests that the virus was introduced into the seal population around 2015. This highlights the need for continued surveillance in mammals with unusual behavior and the importance of interventions to prevent interspecies transmission.
