"Robyn's mother, Yvonne Ford, had shown no signs of illness in the months after returning from her holiday in Morocco in February. She had spoken highly of the country and its people, and recommended it for future getaways. She had not realised that a seemingly harmless interaction with a puppy while sitting in the sun would cause so much damage."
"By the time she was admitted to hospital and diagnosed with rabies, there was nothing anyone could do to save Yvonne's life. Robyn hopes to travel next to Malawi, another rabies hotspot, to help immunise dogs there. Photograph: Robyn Thomson It didn't feel real, said Robyn, recalling her disbelief that such a small mark could have brought her world crashing down. I remember thinking it had to be something else, she hadn't been bitten or attacked."
Yvonne Ford returned from a holiday in Morocco showing no immediate signs of illness but later developed flu-like symptoms that rapidly worsened. Headaches and fever progressed until she lost the ability to walk or eat and was admitted to hospital. Diagnosis of rabies came too late for treatment, and Yvonne died on 11 June, becoming the seventh rabies fatality in the UK since 2000. Rabies causes brain inflammation and is almost always fatal once symptoms develop. Around 60,000 people die from rabies globally each year. Her daughter has committed to reducing rabies deaths and to supporting dog immunisation efforts in hotspots such as Malawi.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]