UK tourists warned as rabies case detected in Spain province
The Foreign Office website said the case of the 'almost always fatal' virus had been reported this month
A case of the almost always fatal virus rabies has been detected in Valencia, prompting a warning to individuals planning to travel to Spain. The Foreign Office revealed that the case was reported earlier this month.
A recent update on the Foreign Office-funded Travel Health Pro website stated: "In early June 2025, the Valencian Health Department reported a fatal case of rabies in a Spanish resident bitten by a dog during a trip to Ethiopia in July 2024."
Rabies is a virus transmitted through the saliva of animals, commonly spreading to humans via bites, scratches, or licks on open wounds from infected animals, primarily dogs. According to Travel Health Pro: "It can also be a risk if an animal spits and saliva gets into the eyes, mouth or nose. The virus attacks the central nervous system, causing progressive damage to the brain and spinal cord. Once symptoms are present, rabies is almost always fatal."
The Spanish General Directorate of Public Health confirmed: "In early June 2025, the Valencian Health Department reported a fatal case of rabies in a patient who suffered a dog bite during a trip to Ethiopia in July 2024. The case poses no risk to public health as it is transmitted only through bites from rabid animals, and mainland Spain and its islands have been free of rabies in terrestrial mammals since 1978.
"According to the Contingency Plan for the Control of Terrestrial Rabies in Captive and Wild Animals in Spain, 2023, Spain is at alert level 0 (no cases of terrestrial rabies). In the Autonomous Cities of Ceuta and Melilla, alert level 1 is occasionally activated, due to the risk that imported cases of animal rabies crossing the border from Morocco may come into contact with local populations of feral dogs, leading to local transmission."
The victim's wife, the only contact at risk, was also given the rabies vaccine and immunoglobulin. Marciano Gómez, Spain's minister of health, stressed it was an "isolated" case, adding that rabies had been eradicated in Spain. The country is one of several - including nations like the UK, Japan, New Zealand and Australia - to declare themselves rabies free.
NHS rabies advice:
Get medical help immediately if:
you've been bitten or scratched by an animal while you're abroad
an animal has licked your eyes, nose or mouth, or licked a wound you have, while you're abroad
you've been bitten or scratched by a bat in the UK
If you're abroad, get medical help as soon as possible. Do not wait until you get back to the UK.
If you're in the UK, ask for an urgent GP appointment, call NHS 111 or get help from 111 online.
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