Woman, 65, dies of rabies after being bitten by a puppy in India

A woman died of rabies after being bitten by a puppy while on a yoga retreat.

The bite on her hand began to cause pain and burning sensations six weeks later when, back home in Virginia, US, she went to hospital thinking she'd been poisoned.

Left breathless and feeling 'claustrophobic' after being discharged from hospital, doctors thought she was suffering a panic attack and sent her home with medicine. 

But her condition got quickly worse and, within days, she became aggressive, was left gasping for air and began to foam at the mouth.

Tests confirmed she had a strain of rabies found in dogs in India and medics sedated her with ketamine to reduce the risk of her spreading the virus to nurses.

Doctors tried 'aggressive treatment' but the married woman died on May 21, 2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed.

She is one of just nine people to have died of rabies in the US since 2008. 

CDC officials last week warned travellers to get vaccinated against rabies before going to countries where it spreads.

Rabies, a viral infection, can be vaccinated against but is difficult to cure, and is almost always fatal if people show symptoms.

In its report the CDC said the rural nature of and 'community activities' involved in the woman's yoga holiday raised her risk of catching the virus.

Her early symptoms, seen by doctors on May 7, 2017, four days after her arm pain began, included breathlessness, anxiety, insomnia and struggling to swallow water.

'The patient expressed concern about exposure to a toxic substance,' the CDC report said.

She was given medication and discharged but, once in her car in the car park, she became claustrophobic and couldn't breathe so went back into the hospital.

This was believed to have been a panic attack so she was given more medications and discharged again.

But the next day, May 8, she was becoming 'progressively agitated and

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