Norwegian woman dies from rabies

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A Norwegian woman died on Monday after contracting rabies from a stray puppy she found while on a holiday in the Philippines.

According to a BBC report, Birgitte Kallestad, 24, was bitten by the puppy after she took it back to her resort.

Kallestad fell ill shortly after returning to Norway and died at the hospital where she worked.

Her family urged the Norwegian government to make vaccination against rabies to its citizens traveling to the Philippines.

“Our dear Birgitte loved animals. Our fear is that this will happen to others who have a warm heart like her,” the family said in a statement.

“If we can achieve this, the death of our sunbeam can save others.”

The case was the first rabies-related death in Norway for more than 200 years, the BBC said.

Rabies is a deadly virus that could cause life-threatening infection to the brain if left untreated.

The Philippines earlier said it aims to be a rabies-free country by 2020.

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