American yogi contracted rabies in Rishikesh from puppy bite

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On the evening of May 8, the patient became progressively agitated and combative and was noted to be gasping for air when attempting to drink water.

Hospital staff members questioned family about animal exposures, and the patient’s husband reported that she had been bitten on the right hand by a puppy approximately 6 weeks before symptom onset while touring in India. According to the husband, the patient cleaned the wound with the help of the tour operator but did not seek further medical treatment. The patient had no record of a pretravel health screening, did not receive rabies preexposure vaccination before the trip, nor had she ever been vaccinated against rabies.

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The patient’s communicability period was presumed to have begun 2 weeks before symptom onset, on April 19. The patient was a resident of a communal living facility. The Piedmont Health District interviewed 13 residents of the commune who reported close contact with the patient, four of whom met the exposure criteria: three persons had direct contact with the patient’s saliva, and one person was bitten by the patient.

(Underlined by Corboy. Rabies virus tortures you)

All four were advised to initiate PEP.

The patient had participated in a lengthy organized yoga retreat tour of India during January 28–April 5, 2017. Seventeen tour members (including the patient) from five states (California, Illinois, Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia) and two countries (United States and Spain) and six staff members from two countries (United States and India) participated in the tour.

Tour members confirmed that the patient was bitten by a puppy outside her hotel in Rishikesh, India, and that the wound was washed with water, but no further treatment was administered. Three tour members in addition to the patient reported direct contact with the same puppy; two were determined not to have been exposed to infectious materials. One, a North Carolina resident, reported having been bitten on the leg; TJHD recommended PEP for this person.


(PEP) is the rabies immunization series of shots administered to prevent rabies after exposure to an infected person or animal.

Boldface font by Corboy for emphasis

A tour manual was provided to all members before travel that recommended consulting with a physician regarding any pretravel health concerns, but did not list specific health risks or pretravel vaccination recommendations.

The World Health Organization International Health Regulations focal point with the Indian Ministry of Health was notified of the case, and local health authorities conducted an investigation (4). One rabid dog was reported from the area within the preceding 6 months, but no additional information regarding the puppy or its owner was available.

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A Virginia woman who was bit by a dog during a yoga retreat in India died weeks later after contracting rabies, a new report released by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention revealed.

The 65-year-old woman, who was not identified in the report, traveled to Asia for the multi-month yoga trip in early 2017. While overseas, she came into contact with the dog that bit her in Rishikesh, but did not experience symptoms until early May — about six weeks after the bite — when she’d already returned to America.


She cleaned her injury after the dog bite with water but did not seek further treatment at the time, her husband said, according to the CDC report released Thursday.