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Rabies risk reminder if travelling abroad

19 June 2025

The UK Health Security Agency has reported a traveller from the UK has sadly died after becoming infected with rabies following contact with a stray dog whilst visiting Morocco.

This follows a recent report from Spanish authorities (in Spanish) on 13 June 2025 advising a Spanish traveller had died from rabies after suffering a dog bite during a visit to Ethiopia in July 2024.

Rabies is found in all continents, except Antarctica. For information on which countries are affected, see GOV.UK guidance on rabies risk by country.

According to the Global Alliance for Rabies Control, worldwide:

  • over 5.5 billion people live with the daily risk of rabies.
  • more than 59,000 people die from rabies every year.
  • over 95% of rabies deaths occur in Africa and Asia, with the majority occurring from rabid dog bites.
  • around half of the people who die from rabies are children.

What is Rabies?

Rabies is a fatal but preventable disease of the central nervous system caused by the rabies virus. People are infected when saliva from an infected mammal comes into direct contact with broken skin or mucous membranes (eyes, nose or mouth), usually from a bite, scratch, or lick.

Rabies is almost invariably fatal once symptoms develop. Only a small number of people with the disease are known to have survived.

Advice to Travellers

All travellers should be:

  • made aware of the risk of rabies at their destination, particularly if travelling to rabies endemic countries
  • advised to avoid contact with animals (both wild and domestic), particularly dogs, cats, bats and monkeys.
  • advised how to prevent animal bites, including bat bites

Children are more vulnerable to rabies than adults, as they are less likely to understand the risk of interacting with animals, less able to defend themselves from an animal attack and may not report a potential exposure.

All travellers to endemic areas should be aware of the need to carry out immediate wound care and seek medical attention immediately following potential exposure.

Effective and safe rabies vaccines exist for both humans and dogs, and if given are highly protective. These can prevent clinical rabies from developing and can be used pre- and post-exposure.

See the TRAVAX Rabies and Rabies post-exposure guidance pages for further information.