The horrifying symptoms of rabies after British woman died from puppy scratch

Yvonne Ford,right,pictured with her daughter Robyn Thompson,died from rabies in June (Picture: Facebook)

The daughter of a British woman who died of rabies has launched a campaign to help prevent others suffering the same fate.

Yvonne Ford,59,and her husband were on a trip to Morocco in February this year when a stray puppy,which had been lying under her sunbed,scratched her.

The scratch didn’t draw blood and Yvonne,from Barnsley,South Yorkshire,didn’t think much of it at the time,according to her daughter Robyn Thompson.

Several months later the grandmother of four developed a ‘horrendous’ headache and was admitted to Barnsley Hospital.

Within days,Yvonne was unable to walk,talk,sleep or swallow. She started hallucinating,and developed a fear of water.

She said her parents came home and everything was normal. They then went to Florida as a family,before her Yvonne and her husband went on a fishing trip.

‘But in June she came down with this horrendous headache. She was in a lot of pain so went to hospital,’ Robyn explained.

‘Soon,she couldn’t sleep,she couldn’t walk,she couldn’t talk. She was hallucinating and had a fear of water.

‘She couldn’t swallow. She was choking on her own saliva. So doctors put her in an induced coma.’

A week later she was diagnosed with rabies.

‘There’s only one outcome for rabies once symptoms develop and it’s death every time.

Yvonne was a grandmother of four (Picture: Robyn Thomson/SWNS)

‘So we had to turn off her life support.’

Yvonne’s family later learnt it normally takes a few months for rabies symptoms to show – although the fatal disease can incubate for up to two years.

Speaking about her plans to work with Mission Rabies,Robyn said: She said: ‘This is something I need to do. If I can save even one life through this work,or spare one family from going through the pain we have experienced,then it will be turning a terrible negative into something positive.

‘I’m determined to transform my grief into action – helping vaccinate dogs,support surveillance efforts,and deliver life-saving lessons in schools.’

Mission Rabies’ goal is to vaccinate at least 70 per cent of the dog population to achieve herd immunity and stop rabies at its source,while also educating children on how to recognise rabid animals and stay safe.

Yvonne and her husband Ron were on a holiday to Morocco when she was scratched by a puppy (Picture: Robyn Thomson/SWNS)

Mum-of-two Robyn has launched a GoFundMe to cover the costs of travel,accommodation and project fees and is appealing for help from the public.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) reports that around 59,000 people die from rabies in over 150 countries each year. Of these cases,95% occur in Africa and Asia.

Before Yvonne,the last recorded death of a British person from rabies was in November 2018. Omar Zouhri,58,died at John Radcliffe Hospital,Oxford,after being bitten by a cat in Morocco.

Before that,bat handler David McRae died in 2002 when he was bitten during a bat identification exercise.

Last month we looked at all the countries that have rabies,tips on how you can avoid contracting it and what treatment is available should you be bitten or scratched by an animal suspected of having it.