CDC: Virginia woman died from rabies after 2017 India trip

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have confirmed that a Virginia woman who died in 2017 contracted rabies from a dog bite in India.

The Daily Progress reports the CDC released a report on Friday cautioning travellers to get the rabies vaccine.

The 65-year-old was bitten on the hand during a yoga retreat. She began experiencing pain six weeks later, and eventually tested positive for rabies. She’d never been vaccinated against the virus.

The Virginia Department of Health announced on May 12 of that year that they were investigating a rare case of rabies in a human. The woman died May 21, after an experimental treatment failed. Treatment for the 72 health care providers exposed to the virus cost $235,000.

Virginia hadn’t reported a human rabies case since 2009.

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Information from: The Daily Progress, http://www.dailyprogress.com