How common is rabies in humans?
Human rabies is extremely rare in the UK. The last case of rabies in this country was more than a century ago, in 1902. Cases occurring since then have all been acquired abroad, usually through dog bites. In 2002 a man who was a licensed bat handler died in Scotland from infection with European Bat Lyssavirus 2, a rabies-like virus. On rare occasions someone who is incubating rabies arrives in this country and then falls ill. How many cases of rabies have there been in the UK? Since 1946, twenty-three cases have been reported in the UK, all imported. Only three cases have occurred since 2000. How do humans catch rabies? Humans generally catch rabies through being bitten by an infected animal (usually a dog). In this country, rabies has long been eliminated in the animal population, so recent human cases in the UK have all been associated with exposure to infected animals elsewhere in the world. What are the symptoms and signs of rabies in humans? Rabies is a very serious infection whic
