Travellers have been warned to exercise caution in countries where rabies is common, following the death of a woman who contracted the virus in India.

The 39-year-old from Bury, died in July, three months after being nipped by a pet puppy during a holiday in India.

Researchers from the University of Liverpool, who were investigating her death, said that the bite the woman received was little more than a graze and she did not seek medical help afterwards. She also had not received a rabies vaccination before travelling abroad.

Writing in the British Medical Journal, researchers said that the case served as a warning for people travelling to countries where rabies was common.

Researchers warned travellers to avoid contact with animals and to seek medical attention if they received bites or scratches from animals. They also reminded people visiting countries such as Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, that they needed rabies vaccinations.

Rabies is an acute viral infection of the central nervous system, which is usually transmitted through the bite of an infected dog, although it can be spread via other animals, such as foxes, racoons and wolves.

It results in at least 40,000 deaths worldwide every year, with 90% of deaths occurring in developing countries, particularly in India, where stray dogs tend to roam around freely.

Symptoms include pain, tingling or itching at the site of the bite, high fever, confusion, agitation, seizures and hydrophobia.

Rabies is rare in Britain – only 12 cases have been reported sine 1977, with only one of those – from a bat bite – being acquired in the UK.

(KMcA/SP)