Family wore PPE as they watched grandmother die from rabies

The family of a grandmother who contracted rabies had to wear PPE equipment as they watched her die in hospital, an inquest has heard.  Yvonne Ford, 59, from Barnsley, died from the disease just four months after being scratched by a stray dog on holiday in Morocco in February 2025.

An inquest in Sheffield has heard how she was admitted to Barnsley Hospital after falling ill, where her condition suddenly deteriorated. After a psychiatrist suspected rabies she was transferred to an infectious disease unit at Sheffield Royal Hallamshire Hospital where she died on 11 June.

The jury was told that rabies is 100% fatal once the symptoms begin to show. Her daughter Robyn Thomson told the inquiry how they had to wear gloves, masks, visors and aprons during her mother's dying moments.

But she said they "held her hand during her final breaths". Rabies is extremely rare in the UK - since 1946 there have been just 26 cases.

It is transferred through saliva and can result in hydrophobia, the fear of water, causing sufferers to constantly spit. The inquiry heard how Mrs Ford was spitting out her saliva every five to 10 seconds until she died.

She also refused to drink, despite desperate efforts from her family to hydrate her with a syringe. In a statement read on behalf of her family, Ms Thomson said: "We are determined that Yvonne's death will not be without meaning." She described her mother as a "loving, active and devoted family woman" who was a "fantastic wife.