Rabies victim loses fight for life at Belfast hospital

A woman who contracted the rabies virus while working with abandoned animals in South Africa has lost her fight for life in the North.

Lisa McMurray, who was in her 30s, had been in a critical condition at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast since being diagnosed with the illness last month.

She is believed to have contracted rabies as far back as December 2006 while trying to stop two dogs from fighting.

However, she only began feeling unwell after being home in the North for several months.

Rabies is extremely rare in the UK and the last case reported in the North was in 1938.