New Zealand reports the country’s first recorded case of rabies 2023

On Thursday, New Zealand disclosed its first-ever instance of rabies, saying the fatal viral disease had claimed the life of a patient who had contracted it overseas but that there was no danger to the general public.

According to the health ministry, “complete infection control procedures” were utilized at both of the hospitals where the patient was treated, the first of which was located in Whangarei on the North Island and the second of which was located in neighboring Auckland.

According to a statement released by the Ministry of Health, “Person to Person Transmission of Rabies is Very Rare, Almost Unknown,” which means that there is no risk to the general population.

The saliva of an infected animal that bites another person is often how the disease rabies is transmitted.

When the patient was initially taken to the hospital at the beginning of March, there was a strong possibility that they were suffering from the sickness.

The subsequent findings from the laboratory showed that it was the very first case of rabies ever recorded in New Zealand, which has a population of five million people.

The health ministry stated that “New Zealand does not have rabies in either animal or human populations, and this case does not affect our rabies-free status.” [Case] does not impact our rabies-free status.

“Travelers should be aware, however, that there are thousands of rabies cases reported in humans around the world each year,” said Nick Jones, director of public health for a number of countries in our part of the world. “Travelers should be aware that there are thousands of rabies cases reported in humans around the world each year.”