The husband and children of a grandmother who died from rabies have told an inquest they do not want another family to endure the "trauma, loss and devastation" they have experienced.
Yvonne Ford, 59, from Barnsley, died four months after being scratched by a stray dog she startled under her sun lounger on a Moroccan beach during a February 2025 holiday.
An inquest in Sheffield heard Mrs Ford was admitted to Barnsley Hospital in June 2025 after falling ill. Her condition rapidly deteriorated, prompting a psychiatrist to identify the potential for rabies.
Mrs Ford died at Sheffield’s Royal Hallamshire Hospital on 11 June, with her family present and wearing PPE protection.
Her daughter Robyn Thomson read a statement on Wednesday on behalf of her family, which said: “We are determined that Yvonne’s death will not be without meaning.”
Ms Thomson said it was vital the public are made aware that they must seek urgent medical advice if they are scratched or bitten by an animal abroad to prevent “another family from enduring this trauma, loss and devastation”.
She said Mrs Ford was a “loving, active and devoted family woman” who was a “fantastic wife”, a “wonderful mother” and an “exceptional grandmother” to her four grandchildren.
Ms Thomson said her mother was scratched on February 12 2025, adding: “She had put her leg down and startled the dog.”
She said: “The scratch was very minor with no evident bleeding.”
The jury has been told how Mrs Ford went to Barnsley Hospital on June 2 2025 with a range of symptoms including severe headaches, nausea, mobility issues and disorientation.
She was admitted a day later as her condition deteriorated but doctors struggled to work out what was wrong with her.
Rabies was only diagnosed after a psychiatrist asked about Mrs Ford’s travel history when he was called-in by medical colleagues who were concerned that symptoms including hallucinations, disorientation and high levels of anxiety could have a mental health cause.
After this psychiatrist suspected rabies, Mrs Ford was transferred to an infectious disease unit at Sheffield Royal Hallamshire Hospital where she died.
The jury has been told that rabies is a virus that is 100% fatal once the symptoms begin to show but can be prevented with a vaccine.
Ms Thomson explained to the jury how family and staff had to wear gloves, masks, visors and aprons when they were with her mother, from when she was admitted to Sheffield to when she died.
But she said they “held her hand during her final breaths”.
Ms Thomson told the inquest how the family were told “there is no possible recovery and that the only outcome would be fatal” after rabies was confirmed at the Royal Hallamshire.
She said that “watching Yvonne deteriorate so rapidly was extremely traumatic” during her time at Barnsley Hospital.
Ms Thomson told the jury of nine women and two men how they had to watch her deteriorate “in real time without explanation and with growing fear”.
She said the family had a number of concerns about the basic care her mother received in Barnsley and added: “We don’t believe Yvonne was treated with the level of dignity and respect she deserved.”
Ms Thomson described how her mother refused to drink, despite desperate efforts from her family to hydrate her with a syringe, and she was spitting out her saliva every five to 10 seconds until she died.
Infectious diseases expert Katharine Cartwright, from Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, told the jury earlier this week how this was a manifestation of hydrophobia – the fear of water – which is a symptom found only with rabies.
Dr Cartwright told the inquest on Tuesday there have only been 26 cases of rabies in the UK since 1946.
She said it appeared that Mrs Ford began to exhibit symptoms at the very end of May and, therefore, there was nothing that could have been done at Barnsley Hospital that would have saved her.
Dr Cartwright said that rabies symptoms typically begin within four weeks of exposure but it can be up to three months and, in some cases, it can take years.
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