Overview
- Yvonne Ford, 59, became ill months after a minor scratch from a stray puppy in Morocco on February 10, 2025, and was admitted to Barnsley Hospital in early June.
- Rabies entered the differential only after psychiatrist Dr Alexander Burns, called to assess hallucinations and agitation on June 6, elicited the Morocco dog‑scratch history and raised concern for the virus.
- She was transferred to the infectious‑disease unit at Sheffield’s Royal Hallamshire Hospital and died on June 11, with rabies encephalitis recorded as the cause of death.
- Infectious‑disease expert Dr Katharine Cartwright told the jury the illness is effectively 100% fatal once symptoms begin, only 26 UK cases have been recorded since 1946, and post‑exposure vaccination is effective only before symptoms.
- The family, representing themselves, are challenging aspects of Barnsley Hospital’s account and say they have video evidence, while the coroner awaits a consultant witness stranded in Bali due to regional flight disruptions.