Published Date: 2005-07-23 23:50:00
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Rabies, human, dog - UK (England) ex India
Archive Number: 20050723.2125

RABIES, HUMAN, DOG - UK (ENGLAND) EX INDIA
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Health Information for International Travel 2005-2006
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[1]
Date: Fri 22 Jul 2005
From: Mary Marshall <tropical.forestry@btinternet.com>
Source: Independent Television News online, Fri 22 Jul 2005 [edited]
<http://www.itv.com/news/index_1689955.html>

UK: death of woman bitten by rabid dog in Goa
---------------------------------------------
A woman who was bitten by a dog during her holiday in Goa has died from
rabies, health officials confirmed. The woman, from Bury, Greater
Manchester, contracted the viral infection after she was bitten by a stray
animal on 9 Apr 2005. The 39 year old shop assistant fell ill when she
returned to England and died in hospital.
A spokesman for the Health Protection Agency assured members of the public
that they were not at risk and said hospital staff had been offered
vaccines as a precaution. The woman was admitted to Fairfield General
Hospital, Byry, after she returned from Goa and began to feel unwell. Once
hospital staff had diagnosed her condition as rabies, the woman was
transferred to the Walton Centre in Liverpool a specialist centre for
neurology and neurosurgery. But despite specialist treatment, she died from
the disease.
******
[2]
Date: Fri 22 Jul 2005
From: Mary Marshall <tropical.forestry@btinternet.com>
Source: BBC News online, Fri 22 Jul 2005 [edited]
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/manchester/4705473.stm>

UK: rabies contracted by tourist bitten by dog in Goa
-----------------------------------------------------
A British woman has died after contracting rabies on holiday in the popular
Asian tourist destination of Goa (India). Health officials said the woman,
who is in her 30s and from Bury in Greater Manchester, was admitted to
Fairfield General Hospital. She was transferred to the Walton Centre for
Neurology and Neurosurgery, Liverpool, where she died on Sat 16 Jul 2005.
The Health Protection Agency North West said hospital staff were offered
rabies vaccines as a "precautionary measure".
The woman was bitten by a dog in the Indian tourist spot visited by
thousands of Britons each year. A spokesman for the Health Protection
Agency North West said: "There is no record of rabies ever being passed
from a patient to a health care worker, but to be absolutely safe staff in
both hospitals who had close personal contact with the patient have been
offered rabies vaccine. This really is a precautionary measure and we are
able to reassure these staff that if any risk to them existed at all, it
would have been very low indeed."
Rabies is a viral infection transmitted to humans in saliva when they are
bitten by an infected animal. Infected dogs are the commonest cause of
human infection worldwide, while in western Europe most cases of rabies are
from bites by infected bats. A bat enthusiast in Scotland was the 1st
person to die of UK-acquired rabies since 1902 after being bitten by an
infected bat in 2002.
--
Mary Marshall
<tropical.forestry@btinternet.com>
[It is not clear from either of these 2 reports when or whether the patient
was offered standard post exposure treatment, or what treatment was
implemented. It is disturbing that tourists visiting areas of known high
rabies risk either are not forewarned (now increasingly unlikely) or are
unaware of the need for prompt post exposure treatment following a bite
from a dog or another animal behaving in an atypical manner. - Mod.CP]

See Also

2004
---
Rabies, human, bat - USA (WI) (07): recovery 20041231.3459
Rabies, human - Germany (ex India) 20041112.3054
Rabies, human, bat - USA (WI) 20041021.2853
Rabies, human, bat - USA (WI) (02): partial recovery 20041110.3040

...................cp/pg/sh

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