A young norwegian tourist 24 years old is died of rabies, more than 2 months after contracting the virus in the Philippines. During this stay, last February, the young woman who loves animals, collects a stray puppy and brings it back to the residence where she is staying with friends.
After washing and grooming the dog, she plays with him in the garden. Like all owners of young dogs, she gets bitten and scratching but the cuts are so small that the young woman, who is a health worker at the central hospital in Førde, Norway, treats and disinfects the scratches herself.
Rabies disappeared from Norway for 200 years
On her return to Norway, the 24-year-old young woman does not feel very well. She was hospitalized several times but the doctors could not find the cause of her symptoms. The diagnosis of rabies does not come spontaneously to the minds of Norwegian doctors because the disease has disappeared from the country for 200 years. When a doctor finally suspects the signs of rabies, it is already too late to treat it.
the rabies virus is transmitted to humans through the saliva of animals (domestic or wild) infected during a bite or scratch. Only vaccination, carried out within a few hours of contact with a suspected animal, can prevent the onset of the disease and death.
Birgitte Kalestad’s family is now fighting for the rabies vaccine to become mandatory before any stay in the Philippines or any other place where tourists can be in contact with animals wanderers.
Read also :
Beware of rabies: a campaign aimed at travelers
Rabies: the worrying human cost
