Fatal Rabies Case Sparks UK Warning for Spain Travelers, Heightens Concerns in Ceuta and Melilla

"In early June 2025, the Valencia health department reported a fatal case of rabies in a Spanish resident bitten by a dog during a trip to Ethiopia in July 2024, according to the website Travel Health Pro, funded by the Foreign Office. The case poses no risk to public health, as it is transmitted only by bites from rabid animals, and mainland Spain and its islands have been free of rabies in terrestrial mammals since 1978."

The agency defines rabies as a virus transmitted through animal saliva that is generally transmitted to humans through bites, scratches, licking or open wounds of an infected animal (usually a dog). "The risk can also be high if an animal spits and its saliva enters the eyes, mouth or nose. The virus attacks the central nervous system, causing progressive damage to the brain and spinal cord. Once symptoms appear, rabies is almost always fatal," it specifies.

Spain is at alert level 0 (no cases of terrestrial rabies), according to the Emergency Plan for the Control of Terrestrial Rabies in Captive and Wild Animals in Spain (2023). In the cities of Ceuta and Melilla, "alert level 1 is sometimes activated, due to the risk that cases of animal rabies imported from Morocco may come into contact with local populations of stray dogs, leading to local transmission," it is specified.

The Foreign Office also advises British nationals abroad to consult a doctor immediately if they have been bitten or scratched by an animal, or if an animal has licked their eyes, nose or mouth, or one of their wounds.