Britain has taken the case of the death of a person from rabies seriously. He contracted the disease while on a holiday in Morocco. It seems a cat bit him; hence, the officials are worried because since 1902 there is no known case of any human contracting rabies in the UK from animals other than bats. This has prompted Public Health England (PHE) to issue a warning to travelers who plan to go out of Britain.

The Telegraph UK reports that rabies does not circulate in any form in the UK. However, between 2000 and 2017, there were five cases where UK residents were infected.

PHE clarified that those happened because of "animal exposures abroad."

Cases of rabies in the UK

The Telegraph UK adds that the last recorded rabies case in Britain was in 2012. A woman in her late 50s contracted the disease when she went to India where her son’s pet dog bit her. She developed the symptoms a few months after she returned home to Dartford in Kent but ignored it because the bite was a small one. Later, it aggravated and a doctor who was familiar with the symptoms diagnosed that it was serious and suspected the worst.

Another woman from Manchester also died from rabies. She had visited India and a dog bit her in a resort in Goa. The only case of a person attacked by this disease in the UK was in 2002. The victim was a wildlife artist and naturalist and he died from rabies after a bat bit him. It was the first case in Britain for 100 years.

He worked as a volunteer bat conservationist and suffered the bites. Vaccination against rabies is necessary for all those who work with bats but this individual had refused it.

Precautions are necessary for safety

According to Independent UK, Public Health England (PHE) issued a warning to travelers after the death of a UK resident from rabies.

The warning says there is “no risk to the wider public in relation to this case.” However, precautions are necessary for safety and vaccination is a solution. Rabies is absent in animals in the UK but is common in Asia and Africa. It passes on to humans through bites and scratches.

In the opinion of an expert, Mary Ramsay, in case a cat, dog, or bat bites, scratches or licks a human, the person must observe normal procedures with regard to washing the wound and not hesitate to seek medical advice. PHE is very firm on this. It has warned those who travel to countries where rabies is endemic to avoid contact with animals like cats and dogs to the extent possible. Vaccination before travelling is the best option as a preventive measure.
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