A person has died in Yorkshire from rabies after contact with a stray dog during a holiday in Morocco.
The deceased is a woman from the area and was diagnosed at Barnsley Hospital, the Barnsley Chronicle reports.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said health workers and close contacts are being assessed and offered vaccination when necessary.
But the agency said there is no risk to the wider public because there is no evidence rabies can be transmitted between people.
Rabies is caused by a virus invading the central nervous system.
It is spread by mammals – such as cats, dogs, bats, raccoons and foxes – but in the UK it’s only found in some bats, according to the NHS.
Once symptoms appear, it is almost always fatal, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The first symptoms can mirror a flu, while later symptoms include numbness or tingling in the affected area, hallucinations, anxiety, difficulty swallowing or breathing, nausea, vomiting, agitation, excessive saliva and paralysis.
But if seen to promptly after a bite, scratch or lick by an animal that may carry the virus, treatment is usually very effective at preventing the condition.
Treatment usually involves two or more doses of the rabies vaccine or a medicine called rabies immunoglobulin, which is a liquid administered to the wound and is only required if the patient has not had the rabies vaccine or has a weakened immune system.
The rabies vaccine is recommended if you’re travelling to a part of the world where rabies is more common.
Around 60,000 people die every year from rabies worldwide, with the majority in Africa and Asia, according to the WHO.
Dr Katherine Russell at the 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.”
The UKHSA urges travellers to rabies-affected countries, for example in Asia and Africa, to avoid contact with dogs, cats and other animals wherever possible and check whether a vaccination is needed before travelling.
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There have been six cases of human rabies associated with animal exposure abroad that have been reported in the UK between 2000 and 2024.
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This includes a case in 2012, when a UK resident died after being bitten by a dog – the most common source of infection in most parts of the world – in South Asia.
The latest case was in 2018, when another Briton died after being bitten by a cat in Morocco.
Rabies is extremely rare in the UK, with just one human case obtained from a native animal since 1902. That case was reported in Scotland in 2002, with the victim having sustained several bat bites.
