WINDHOEK – If Namibia should stand to lose big numbers of its kudu population, it will result in very significant economic losses to the farming and gaming industries of the country.
With this warning, patron of the Rabies Project, Dr Libertina Amathila yesterday officially opened the first ever rabies donor conference in Namibia. Dr Amathila, former Minister of Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development, and Health and Social Services and former Deputy Prime Minister, noted that Namibia is an ever increasing popular tourist destination, pointing out that tourism grew by 32.1 percent between 2005 and 2011.
“The hunting industry is also growing rapidly and Namibia receives some 6 000 to 7 000 hunters per annum, with kudu as a highly sought-after trophy. Sadly enough, rabies in our kudu population is unique to Namibia and it is wreaking havoc with the kudu numbers. Whether these events occur due to increased game fencing, localised droughts that force kudus to congregate at limited feeding areas or whether it is part of inherent population control is an open question,” she said.
Amathila stressed that rabies is a disease of animals but the outcome is too often measured in terms of human suffering and death. Statistics presented by Dr Raimer Hassel, veterinarian of Agra, show that 104 Namibians died of rabies between 2001 and 2006, with the most cases reported in the northern communal areas. The majority of these confirmed cases were caused by people getting bitten by rabid dogs, and no confirmed cases have ever been reported of rabies being transferred from kudus.
Hassel gave an overview of the disease since the first confirmed case was reported in 1907 in Swakopmund, saying his own, and other studies, show clearly that rabies is on the increase in Namibia amongst the main carriers of the disease, black-backed jackal and dogs.
Amathila said it was also very important to note that Namibian farmers depend significantly on wildlife as an alternative source of protein and kudu is a vital source of meat for farm workers.
She said educated guesses are the closest to have an indication of the numbers of rabies cases within the kudu population. She said the outbreak that started in 1977 and lasted for a decade until 1986 has been unequalled in history. “Due to large numbers of kudu that were infected, it has always been suspected that horizontal transmission of rabies occur among kudu and that rabies may be independently maintained within our kudu population and separate from our carnivore cycles. This phenomena need to be urgently investigated in order for us to understand and explore possible control measures to produce knowledge that can be applied outside a research setting,” she said.
Amathila said government is backing the Rabies Project with the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry and the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, as well as South African partners, Agra and the Directorate of Veterinary Services throwing in their weight. She pleaded for more financial assistance and asked the media to spread the message across Namibian borders for possible international funding for the project that will cost N$2 million just to get out of the blocks.
“It has become critical to investigate effective rabies control measures in Namibia, including the possible development of a strategy to halt and reverse the devastating epizootic of kudu rabies.
“However, with great trial comes great innovation, and with this it is with great anticipation that I wait for the introduction of the Rabies Project, especially to determine the interest and commitment of our nation and international community to ongoing research initiatives, initiated through informal public private partnerships,” she concluded.
By Deon Schlechter