Woman is treated for rabies

A WOMAN who is being treated at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast is suffering from rabies, it has been officially confirmed by Northern Ireland’s Eastern Health Board.

The woman remained in a critical condition in the intensive care unit of the hospital last night. It is believed that she contracted rabies while travelling abroad. This is the first notified case of rabies in Northern Ireland since 1938. Rabies is viewed as generally fatal.

The board has repeated that there is no documented case of human-to-human transmission of rabies anywhere in the world. “This means that any risk to other people is negligible,” it says in a statement.

The family and friends of the woman, who is understood to be from Belfast and in her 30s, have asked that media and others respect their privacy.