Yahoo News Norwegian woman, 24, dies from rabies after bite from puppy she rescued
A Norwegian woman has died after contracting rabies from a stray puppy she was attempting to rescue in the Philippines.
Birgitte Kallestad, 24, was on holiday with friends when they found the puppy on a street.
The puppy is thought to have infected her when the puppy bit her after they took it back to their resort.
Ms Kallestad's family said in a statement she fell ill soon after returning to Norway.
She died on Monday at the hospital where she worked.
Rabies is a treatable illness - but can cause a life-threatening infection of the brain and nervous system in humans if left untreated.
Initial symptoms of the illness include anxiety, headaches and fever. But as the disease progresses sufferers experience hallucinations and respiratory failure.
The disease is mostly prevalent in Asia and Africa and kills thousands of people every year.
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Her family said: 'Our dear Birgitte loved animals.
'Our fear is that this will happen to others who have a warm heart like her'.
The girl's case is the first rabies-related death in Norway for more than 200 years.
Ms Kallestad's family has now called for a change in the law, which at present does not make rabies vaccinations compulsory for citizens travelling to the Philippines.
The family continued: 'If we can achieve this, the death of our sunbeam can save others.'
In November 2018, a British traveller died of rabies after being bitten by a cat in Morocco.
It has been claimed Briton Omar Zouhri, 58, died from the viral infection because he did not receive the anti-viral vaccine until the virus had become too strong to cure.
Public Health England (PHE) issued an urgent warning to travellers advising them to steer clear of 'animal exposures abroad'.
