Durban dog case: Wendy on the cost of rabies

And unless you went onto the Durban and Coastal SPCA’s website you wouldn’t have known about it. 

The SPCA sent the same alert to an online news site in late February, and I’ve seen the email that they sent, but for some reason no report was published by that or any other media organisation.

Rabies being fatal to both dogs and humans, even a single case is a big deal, and most definitely in the public interest.  

A case of rabies in Durban 

The Morningside family, who has asked not to be named, adopted a female puppy from Durban and Coast on February 1.

They were told it had had a health check and its first round of vaccinations. Three weeks later the puppy was lethargic and off its food. Their vet suspected rabies and suggested that she be put down, and because both the father and young son had been bitten by her during play, drawing blood, she also advised them to start treatment immediately.

Their family doctor suggested they go to Entabeni, given the urgency, and the treatment  - shots of the antirabies immunoglobulin (RIG) - began on the father and son, every second day.

Meanwhile, the dog’s body was sent to the State Vet in Pietermaritzburg - a positive diagnosis can only be made after testing a dead dog’s brain - and it was indeed positive for rabies.

It was a huge shock to the family - first the dramatic loss of the puppy they’d come to love, and then being in fear of their own lives. It meant all four of them, plus two of the children's friends who had been in contact with the puppy, had to undergo treatment. And no-one was giving them precise information on how to go about getting the drugs from a State institution, they say. 

The rabies notification on the SPCA’s website (see link below) says: “Government hospitals or clinics will provide free advice and treatment.”

Not that easy in practice, the mother told Consumerwatch.

“We were calling the State hospitals - King Edward, Addington, King George - and they were saying ‘we will treat you but we have people dying and we don't know if we have enough of the rabies immunisation vaccine for how many people and whether it’s been kept at a proper temperature’…”

So they did the full six weeks’ treatment at Entabeni. 

And between them, the parents got all the drug’s side effects: muscle weakness, insomnia, headaches and flu-like symptoms. 

“It’s been a very lonely time as well, because there’s a lot of stigma attached to rabies,” the mother said. “We didn’t want anyone to say that they didn’t want to sit next to the children because they may have rabies, so we pretty much took our family off the grid for six weeks. Six very stressed weeks.”

The total cost for the six of them, plus all other associated costs, amounted to R30 000. And they only got the all-clear in the past month.

They asked the SPCA to pay this amount, as their medical aid wouldn’t, but the NGO said it was not able to.

The family also feels that there was a lack of disclosure about the rabies risk on the part of the SPCA. 

Had they known that the rabies inoculation is only given to puppies at 12 weeks, they wouldn’t have adopted the puppy before that, they say.

The SPCA responds 

Responding, Durban and Coastal SPCA’s general manager Caroline Smith said the case had come as a massive shock to the NGO.

In the past 33 years that branch of the SPCA has adopted about 48 000 cats and dogs without a single incident of rabies and no other SPCA in South Africa has had one either. The organisation is understandably very concerned that media exposure of this case will negatively affect the future adoption of animals from them.

"Despite our heartfelt compassion for the family, we could not have done anything that would have resulted in a different outcome," Smith said.

“The puppy underwent five health checks during her 7-day stay at our SPCA.  All of these indicated that she was happy and healthy. We believe that rabies is a risk that applies to any animal, whether acquired from the SPCA, pet shops, breeders or other agencies.”

As for the family’s feeling that they should have been told about puppies only being vaccinated for rabies at 12 weeks, so they were aware of the risk of adopting before that, Smith said the vaccination is not a cure for rabies – regardless of the age of the animal. 

“The vaccination may prevent rabies from being contracted by an animal, but it does not cure rabies that has already been contracted by the dog,” she said. “If the animal is already incubating rabies, as was the case with this puppy, administering the vaccination will not cure the disease.”

The puppy and her sister had been given to the SPCA by a man who gave his address as “Mount Edgecombe”, Smith said, which did not indicate a high risk. After the death of the puppy’s sister (from suspected distemper, apparently), the owner was tracked down and his remaining dogs found to be healthy. The family said the man had since been traced by state officials to the KZN south coast.

As for the allegation of lack of support of the family, Smith said the SPCA had been shocked and concerned on hearing what had happened, and offered to set up a meeting with an SPCA committee member, who is a vet, and the parents, to discuss the veterinarian protocols, but they refused this.

The family explained to Consumerwatch that they were more focused on obtaining the drugs they needed, at that point.

As for refunding the family what it was forced to spend on the drugs privately, out of their own pocket, because their medical aid wouldn’t pay, Smith said the SPCA’s Constitution precluded the funding of private medical vaccinations for the family. All the SPCA could do was refund of the adoption fees, which had been done, she said.

As for this family’s failed attempt to sourcing the drugs they needed - urgently - for six of them from a State hospital, Smith said “free post exposure prophylaxis” should never be unavailable at a local state clinic.

“If this is the case the District Surgeon should be contacted as rabies is a notifiable disease.”

She also said the mandate of the State Vet is to control rabies and educate the public. I sent three emails to three different State Vet people about this case - no response.

I will be following up with the District Surgeon.

But for this family, at least, the only viable option was a private hospital. At a big cost. Very sobering indeed.

Here is a link to the notice the Durban and Coastal SPCA posted on its website back in February about this rabies case.