A 24-year-old young lady, Birgitte Kallestad has lost her life to rabies- a dog-prone disease.
The Norwegian, who was in the Philippines on a holiday, contracted the disease from a stray puppy.
Reports have it that she had traveled alongside her friends to the country to spend their holiday in one of the popular tourist centers.
And during one of their strolls, she found the wandering dog on the road and attempted to rescue it by taking it back the resort they were lodging in.
Sadly, the dog bit Birgitte and infected her with the disease. She later became sick after the bite and had to be rushed back to Norway for proper treatment.
However, she gave up the ghost as doctors tried to treat her at the hospital where she had been working before she traveled.
Birgitte’s case happens to be the first of its kind in more than 200 years in Norway.
While expressing their sadness over the incidence, her family members said, “Our dear Birgitte loved animals. Our fear is that this will happen to others who have a warm heart like her.”
Norwegians traveling to the Philippines are not compelled to take vaccinations against rabies but after the sad occurrence, the deceased’s family have begun to urge that the law should make it compulsory.
They stated, “If we can achieve this, the death of our sunbeam can save others.”
Also, read: Family thrown into mourning as car rams into compound, kills four-year-old son
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