This Morning guest breaks down in tears as he recalls weeks before he lost his wife to rabies after getting scratched by a dog on holiday
Yvonne Ford passed away aged 59 on June 11 after she was scratched by a stray dog who had been lying under her sunbed back in February.
'Rabies is a rare but serious infection that's usually caught from a bite or scratch of an infected animal. It's almost always fatal once symptoms appear, but vaccination and early treatment can prevent it,' according to the NHS.
Her husband Ron and her two children Robyn and Adam appeared on the ITV show on Monday to raise awareness about the viral disease and how to prevent a devastating death.
Speaking about the trip, Ron said: 'We went to Morocco for a winter break. Two days before we came home, we were on the beach on the hotel, lots of dogs were running about everywhere...
'There was a puppy underneath her sunbed, she put her leg down and it startled the dog, it scratched her. It didn't bleed. It didn't really mark her...
'So I asked her, should we go see somebody, she said "it's not bled so"... you're unaware.
'That was the second to last day of the holiday, no illness. No nothing. Went home. A month later, still nothing, no symptoms whatsoever.'
Host Dermot O'Leary pointed out that they had been on another trip just weeks before her tragic death, to which Ron said: 'In May we went to Florida, in fact on 21st, she was dancing around a poll with my granddaughter...'
Ron then got extremely emotional, took a deep breath and put his head down at the ground as he started to cry.
'Sorry Ron,' Dermot said. 'Take a minute Ron.'
Dermot asked: 'When did the symptoms first arise?'
Robyn explained: 'We came back from Florida on the 23rd of May, the following week my dad and mum went to York on a fishing trip in the campervan.
'On the Saturday my mum started with a horrendous headache, unbearable headache, she couldn't sleep at all.
'The Monday after, my dad had taken her to A&E because her headache was so severe, the Monday she went into hospital, walking talking, doing everything.
'Come the Friday, she couldn't walk, talk, swallow, she had a fear of water, she was horrendously hallucinating, beyond what we could imagine.
'She just deteriorated within five days.'
Doctor Nighat Arif appeared on the sofa to give viewers tips on what to do before going on holiday.
She said: 'Immediately before going on holiday, there is a rabies vaccine that we can give.
'Its available privately for travel. We know 59,000 cases of rabies or deaths across the world in 150 countries.
'Pales like Morocco, Asia, Africa, north Africa, the world has become such a small place now, we don't think about it.
'We've managed to irradicate it in Europe.'
She continued: 'If you have a scratch, most immediate thing to do is wash it with soup and water, clean the wound.
'It's not always just a scratch that we get from kittens, or dogs or bats, it could be licking of the nose, tongue, lips, eyes, wash all of that out.
'There is post exposure treatment you can be given as well.'
Dermot thanked the family for appearing on the show and asked: 'What's the one message you would like to send to anyone?'
Adam said: 'Just check the recommendations from the government, Morocco was only recommended for rabies. it's not a "you have to do it". Just check.
'We don't want people to go through what we've gone through. Seeing your mum deteriorate in seven days like that. we don't want anyone to go through that ever again.
'If we can get the awareness out, just check, check, check, contact your doctor. Get the injections. That's all we want.'
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV.
By Mary Kekatos, Health Reporter for DailyMail.com
Rabies is a virus that attacks the central nervous system and the brain.
It is almost 100 percent fatal if left untreated.
The virus spreads to people via the saliva of infected animals, usually from a bite, but the saliva can also enter through a cut or break in the skin.
In the US, the animals that most commonly transmit rabies are bats, coyotes, foxes, raccoons and skunks.
Signs and symptoms:
Fever
Headache
Vomiting
Excessive salivation
Difficulty swallowing
Confusion
Hallucination
The virus can lay dormant in the body between one and three months in what is known as the 'incubation period'.
When a person begins showing symptoms, the disease has usually progressed to a point where it is fatal.
Those who believe they've been bitten by a rabid animal should wash their wound with soap and water and immediately seek medical attention.
Treatment:
The Mayo Clinic states that two forms of medication need to be given, within 10 days of infection.
Rabies immune globulin shot: Gives a person antibodies against the virus and should be administered near the bite site as soon as possible after the bite
Series of vaccine shots: Helps the body make its own antibodies against the virus. There are four shots that are administered over 14 days
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have only been 23 cases reported of rabies in the US from 2008 to 2017, with eight of those being contracted outside the US and its territories.
There are typically one to three cases reported every year, the agency says.
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