A Scratch She Barely Noticed. Four Months Later, She Was Dead.

The story of Yvonne Ford should change the way every UK traveller thinks about animal contact abroad. It won't take long to read. It might save your life.

In February 2025, Yvonne Ford, a 59-year-old grandmother from Barnsley, was scratched by a stray puppy on a beach in Morocco. The wound was so minor it didn't draw blood. She cleaned it with a wet wipe and thought nothing of it. She didn't seek medical attention. There was no reason to be alarmed.

Four months later, she was admitted to Barnsley Hospital with severe headaches, nausea, hallucinations, and disorientation. Doctors were baffled. She was referred to the mental health team. It was only when a psychiatrist, who was considering the possibility of Lyme disease, asked her family about foreign travel that the connection was made. By then, the virus had long since taken hold of her nervous system.

She was transferred to an infectious disease unit at Sheffield's Royal Hallamshire Hospital. She died on the 11th of June 2025.

At her inquest in Sheffield, infectious diseases expert Dr Katherine Cartwright told the jury that rabies is 100% fatal once symptoms begin. There is no treatment. There is no recovery. In 100 rabies cases in America since 2000, half were only diagnosed after the patient had already died. There have been just 26 cases in the UK since 1946, so rare that the team at Barnsley Hospital had never encountered it before. The coroner called for a review of how doctors take travel histories from patients.

Yvonne Ford's daughter, Robyn Thomson, said it was vital the public understood a simple truth: only immediate action after an animal bite or scratch abroad can prevent this disease from developing. Once symptoms appear, nothing can be done.

What is rabies and why is it so dangerous?

Rabies is a viral disease that attacks the central nervous system. It is transmitted through the saliva of an infected animal, most commonly through a bite, but also through a scratch or contact with mucous membranes. Dogs are responsible for the vast majority of human cases globally, though bats, monkeys, cats, foxes and other mammals can also carry it.

The incubation period is typically one to three months, but can range from days to over a year. This long and unpredictable window is part of what makes it so dangerous. People who feel fine for months may not connect an animal encounter to their worsening neurological symptoms.

Once symptoms appear, typically including fever, headache, hallucinations, hydrophobia (an extreme aversion to water), confusion and muscle paralysis, the disease is universally fatal. There is no known cure. The world's medical literature contains fewer than ten documented cases of survival after symptomatic rabies.

Globally, rabies kills an estimated 59,000 people every year. The WHO estimates that every nine minutes, somewhere in the world, a person dies from it. The vast majority of those deaths occur in Africa and Asia and a disproportionate number of victims are children under 15. In the UK, the disease has been eliminated from domestic animals, but it remains endemic across enormous parts of the world that UK travellers visit in their millions.

Countries where rabies is a risk for UK travellers

The following table outlines the major travel destinations where rabies poses a genuine risk, categorised by level of concern for UK travellers:

The pre-exposure rabies vaccine: what it is and who needs it

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) consists of three injections given on day 0, day 7, and day 21 or 28. It does not make you immune to rabies. What it does, and this is critical, is buy you time and simplify treatment if you are subsequently exposed.

Without the pre-exposure vaccine: if bitten or scratched by a potentially rabid animal, you need to begin a course of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) as soon as possible. This involves wound washing, a series of vaccine doses, and in many cases an injection of rabies immunoglobulin (RIG) directly into the wound site. RIG is derived from human or horse antibodies, is expensive, and is in critically short supply in many of the countries where you are most at risk. In parts of India, Southeast Asia, and Africa, it may simply not be available.

With the pre-exposure vaccine: you still need post-exposure vaccines if bitten, but you no longer need RIG. The post-exposure course is shorter and simpler, and critically, you have more time to reach appropriate medical care. In a remote location in Nepal or rural Tanzania, that extra time and the removal of the RIG requirement can be the difference between survival and death.

NaTHNaC (the National Travel Health Network and Centre) recommends the pre-exposure rabies vaccine for:

• Travellers visiting rabies-endemic countries for extended periods, particularly longer than a month

• Backpackers and adventure travellers with limited access to rapid medical care

• Those working with animals abroad (vets, conservation workers, researchers)

• Travellers to remote destinations more than 24 hours from reliable post-exposure treatment

• Children, who are at higher risk due to their behaviour around animals and may not report minor bites

Even for shorter trips to high-risk destinations such as India, Morocco, Thailand, or Bali, the vaccine should be discussed at a travel health consultation. The risk calculus shifts significantly when you consider how common animal contact is in popular tourist destinations: beach dogs, temple monkeys, street cats. Local post-exposure treatment is often unavailable or unreliable in the very places where exposure is most likely.

What to do if you are bitten or scratched abroad by an animal?

Act immediately. Do not wait for symptoms. Once symptoms appear, it is too late. The following steps apply whether or not you have had the pre-exposure vaccine:

• Wash the wound thoroughly with soap and running water for at least 15 minutes. This simple step can significantly reduce viral load.

• Apply an antiseptic such as iodine or alcohol if available.

• Seek medical care on the same day. Do not wait. Tell the doctor or clinic you have been bitten or scratched by an animal abroad and ask specifically about rabies post-exposure prophylaxis.

• Contact a travel health clinic or the NHS on return. Even if you received some treatment abroad, follow up immediately to confirm the course is appropriate and complete.

• Do not dismiss minor contact. Yvonne Ford's scratch did not draw blood. Even contact with saliva on broken skin or mucous membranes carries a risk.

A crucial point: UK doctors are unlikely to have seen a rabies case before. If you develop neurological symptoms, flu-like illness, or unexplained psychiatric symptoms in the weeks or months after returning from a trip to a rabies-endemic country, tell every doctor you see about the travel history. Tell them about any animal contact, however minor it seemed at the time.

Rabies in 2026: a growing global concern

Rabies is not a historical footnote. It is an active and expanding threat in multiple parts of the world that UK travellers visit regularly.

In Romania, the interruption of oral rabies vaccination campaigns for foxes after 2020 led to a resurgence of animal cases. From January to September 2025, 48 rabies cases were confirmed in animals across seven Romanian counties. A human death was confirmed in July 2025: a person in their mid-40s who declined post-exposure prophylaxis after a dog bite. Romania is a growing tourist and city-break destination for British travellers.

In Ukraine, the ongoing conflict has created conditions highly conducive to rabies spread. Abandoned animals, disrupted vaccination programmes, and wildlife migrating from conflict zones into populated areas have all contributed. Hospitals in frontline regions report seeing five to ten people with animal bites every day.

In Timor-Leste, a country that only reported its first animal rabies cases in March 2024, at least six human deaths were confirmed by mid-2025, with over 1,400 dog bite exposures recorded. Neighbouring Indonesia is a popular destination for UK travellers, particularly to Bali.

None of this is cause for panic. Rabies is entirely preventable. The vaccine is safe, highly effective, and available at Icon Travel Clinic in Chigwell with a same-day appointment. What it requires is the knowledge to act before travel, not after exposure.

Frequently asked questions about rabies and the rabies vaccine

Does a minor scratch from an animal abroad warrant concern?

Yes. Any contact with the saliva of a potentially infected animal, whether through a bite, scratch, or lick on broken skin, carries a risk. Clean the wound immediately, seek local medical advice that day, and follow up on return to the UK.

How many injections is the pre-exposure rabies vaccine?

Three injections on day 0, day 7, and day 21 or 28. Ideally, you should start the course at least 4 weeks before departure. At Icon Travel Clinic, an accelerated schedule can be arranged for those travelling sooner.

If I've had the pre-exposure vaccine, am I fully protected?

No vaccine gives 100% protection. What it does is remove the need for rabies immunoglobulin (RIG) and simplify your post-exposure treatment. You will still need two further vaccine doses after any exposure, but you will have more time to access them and the treatment will be more straightforward. This is particularly important in countries where RIG is unavailable.

Is the rabies vaccine available on the NHS?

No. The pre-exposure rabies vaccine requires a private prescription and is not funded by the NHS for travel purposes. It is available at Icon Travel Clinic in Chigwell as part of a travel health consultation.

What is the price of the Rabies Vaccine?

£135 per dose and £390 for the full package.

My trip is only one week. Do I still need the rabies vaccine?

The recommendation depends on your destination and activities. A week in Bali with beach time, visits to temples with monkeys, and motorbike riding carries meaningful risk. A week in a city hotel in Thailand may carry less. The decision is best made in a travel health consultation where your full itinerary, accommodation, and activities are considered. As a general principle, if you are travelling to a high-risk country without easy access to reliable post-exposure treatment, the vaccine is worth serious consideration regardless of trip length.

What happens if I am bitten abroad and have not had the pre-exposure vaccine?

Seek medical care immediately, that day. You will need wound washing, a course of rabies vaccines, and likely rabies immunoglobulin injected into the wound. RIG is in short supply in many endemic countries and may not be available at all in rural areas. Do not delay. On return to the UK, attend A&E or a travel health clinic and tell them about the exposure.

Book a travel health consultation at Icon Travel Clinic

Icon Travel Clinic is located at 155 Manford Way, Chigwell, Essex, IG7 4DN. We are a NaTHNaC-accredited travel vaccination centre offering the full pre-exposure rabies vaccination course alongside yellow fever, antimalarials, and all other travel health services. Same-day appointments are available, Monday to Saturday.

If you are travelling to India, Morocco, Southeast Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, or any other destination where rabies is endemic, speak to a travel health practitioner before you go. The vaccine is straightforward. The alternative is not.

Book online at or call 020 8500 7070.