BRIT GRAN DIES FROM RABIES MONTHS AFTER MOROCCO HOLIDAY AS FAMILY 'TRAUMATISED'

A woman who died from rabies after being scratched by a stray dog while on holiday overseas was only diagnosed with the rare disease months after the incident.

The British grandmother Yvonne Ford died four months after sustaining a minor scratch from the animal in February 2025. The 59-year-old had startled the dog from her sun lounger on a beach while holidaying in Morocco.

Yvonne, from Barnsley in South Yorkshire, did not seek medical treatment for the scratch. It was only on June 2 that she presented to Barnsley Hospital with a range of symptoms including severe headaches, nausea, mobility issues and disorientation. She was admitted a day later as her condition mysteriously worsened, with medics stumped.

• WW3 survival bag - the 10 key items Brits should buy NOW after Iran war
• Brit woman, 25, facing life in prison in Dubai over alleged drug offences

Ensure our latest headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as your Preferred Source in your Google search settings.

Rabies was only diagnosed after a psychiatrist asked about her travel history when he was called in by medical colleagues who were concerned that symptoms including hallucinations, disorientation and high levels of anxiety could have a mental health cause.

Yvonne was then transferred to Sheffield's Royal Hallamshire Hospital where she died on June 11. Her family were by her bedside as she passed, wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), an inquest heard.

A jury of eight men and two women said in a narrative conclusion today that "the rarity of the disease and unusual presentation led to a difficulty in reaching a diagnosis but this did not affect the outcome."

Infectious diseases expert Katharine Cartwright, from Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, told the jury during the three-day inquest that rabies is a virus that is 100% fatal once the symptoms begin to show, but can be prevented with a vaccine.

Dr Cartwright said rabies symptoms typically begin within four weeks of exposure - but it can be up to three months and, in some cases, it can take years.

She said it appeared that Yvonne began to exhibit symptoms at the very end of May and therefore there was nothing that could have been done at Barnsley Hospital that would have saved her. Dr Cartwright told the jury there have only been 26 cases of rabies in the UK since 1946.

Yvonne's daughter Robyn Thomson told the inquest on Wednesday that it was vital the public are made aware that they must seek urgent medical advice if they are scratched or bitten by an animal abroad to prevent "another family from enduring this trauma, loss and devastation". She said: "We are determined that Yvonne's death will not be without meaning."

The grief-stricken daughter described her mother as a "loving, active and devoted family woman" who was a "fantastic wife", a "wonderful mother" and an "exceptional grandmother" to her four grandchildren.

She explained to the jury how family and staff had to wear gloves, masks, visors and aprons when they were with her mother, from when she was admitted to Sheffield to when she died.

Robyn told the inquest how the family were told "there is no possible recovery and that the only outcome would be fatal" after rabies was confirmed at the Royal Hallamshire.

She said that "watching Yvonne deteriorate so rapidly was extremely traumatic" during her time at Barnsley Hospital and that the situation unravelled "in real time without explanation and with growing fear".

2026-03-05T15:28:38Z