UK holidaymaker dies from rabies in Yorkshire after being scratched by stray dog in Morocco
A holidaymaker has died from rabies in Yorkshire after contact with a stray dog in Morocco, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has said.
Health workers and people who had close contact with the individual are being assessed as a precautionary measure and offered vaccinations where necessary, officials said.
However, the agency stressed that there was no risk to the wider public due to there being no evidence of rabies passing between humans.
Rabies is passed on through injuries such as bites and scratches from an infected animal. It is nearly always fatal, but post-exposure treatment is very effective at preventing disease if given promptly after exposure to the virus.
The individual – who is understood to have been scratched by a dog, and was diagnosed in Yorkshire and the Humber – is the first person in the UK to die from rabies contracted overseas since 2018. The last victim was bitten by a cat while on holiday in Morocco.
Prior to that, the last reported case of rabies in the UK had previously been in 2012, when a British grandmother died after being bitten by a dog during a holiday to India.
Dr Katherine Russell, head of emerging infections and zoonoses at UKHSA, said: 'I would like to extend my condolences to this individual's family at this time.
'If you are bitten, scratched or licked by an animal in a country where rabies is found then you should wash the wound or site of exposure with plenty of soap and water and seek medical advice without delay in order to get post-exposure treatment to prevent rabies.
'There is no risk to the wider public in relation to this case. Human cases of rabies are extremely rare in the UK, and worldwide there are no documented instances of direct human-to-human transmission.'
Rabies does not circulate in either wild or domestic animals in the UK, although some species of bats can carry a rabies-like virus. No human cases of rabies acquired in the UK from animals other than bats have been reported since 1902.
Over the past 25 years, there have been just seven cases of human rabies associated with animal exposures abroad reported in the UK, according to the UKHSA.
Despite this, information on rabies and bites – both animal and human – were among the top of the list for NHS advice being sought on Christmas and Boxing Day in 2023.
According to the World Health Organisation, rabies is estimated to cause around 59,000 human deaths annually in more than 150 countries, with 95 per cent of cases occurring in Africa and Asia.
However, the UN health agency states that this is likely to be a vast underestimate, and notes that poorer rural populations are particularly affected, while around half of all cases occur in children below the age of 15.
There were an average of 18 reported deaths linked to rabies each year in Morocco over the decade to 2022, WHO data suggests.
The UKHSA has urged holidaymakers to be careful around animals when travelling to countries affected by rabies, and to seek advice about the need for rabies vaccine prior to travel.
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