A grandmother was only diagnosed with rabies after she developed hallucinations and a psychiatrist intervened, an inquest has heard.
Yvonne Ford was scratched by a stray dog on a Morocco beach during a family holiday in February 2025.
The 59-year-old did not seek medical treatment for the minor injury and instead cleaned the scratch with a wet wipe, the inquest in Sheffield heard on Tuesday.
She developed symptoms four months later, when back home in Yorkshire, and was admitted to Barnsley Hospital.
A psychiatrist, Dr Alexander Burns, was called to assess Ms Ford after staff on the short stay ward struggled to diagnose her symptoms, which included hallucinations, disorientation, and high levels of anxiety.
Dr Burns told the jury on Tuesday that he suspected Lyme disease and learned that Ms Ford had recently visited Florida, but had not been bitten there.
However, her husband then disclosed a crucial detail.
"I was informed by her husband that, on February 10 2025, Yvonne was bitten by a stray dog on a beach in Morocco whilst on holiday," Dr Burns said.
"The bite had pierced her skin. The short stay unit medical team were not previously aware of that information."
He became "concerned that the diagnosis may be rabies, in the context of the stray dog bite in Morocco and the various neurological symptoms".
Having never encountered a rabies case, Dr Burns researched the disease.
"It became clear that all of Yvonne’s symptoms could be explained by that diagnosis," he said.
Mrs Ford was subsequently transferred to an infectious disease unit at Sheffield Royal Hallamshire Hospital, where she died on 11 June 2025.
Infectious diseases expert Dr Katharine Cartwright, from Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, informed the jury that rabies is 100 per cent fatal once symptoms manifest.
She said that the vaccine is highly effective and has eliminated the virus from the UK, and there have only been 26 cases in the country since 1946.
Dr Cartwright added that post-exposure administration of the vaccine can be effective in some circumstances before symptoms appear.
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