Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Rabies bite from a cat kills tourist
Warning as cat-bite tourist dies
TRAVELLERS are being warned about rabies after a UK national caught it from a cat bite and died.
Announcing the tragedy yesterday, Public Health England urged people visiting infected countries to seek advice.
It is understood the holidaymaker, not named, did not receive a vaccination in time in either Morocco or the UK.
There is no cure for rabies. Prof Jimmy Whitworth, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, warned symptoms typically appear within a few months but can emerge as quickly as in a week.
He said: “That’s why prompt care and getting vaccination is so important. One message is health workers must be clued in to the possibility of rabies.
“There are high stakes, you must not get it wrong.”
He went on: “My understanding is this is somebody who had contact with a cat behaving abnormally and sought care, I believe in Morocco and the UK, but didn’t receive vaccination until it was too late.
“I believe the cat bit this person a few weeks ago.” PHE said there was no public risk but close contacts of the victim were offered jabs as a precaution. Rabies is not found in UK animals except wild bats. In 2002 David Mcrae, 56, of Guthrie, Angus, died after a bat bite. There were five UK rabies cases from 2000 to 2017 due to “animal exposure abroad”. PHE said avoid animal contact in infected countries, adding: “If bitten, scratched or licked, wash the site with soap and water and seek medical advice without delay.”