A 35-year-old woman has died at a hospital in Belfast after contracting rabies abroad.

Lisa McMurray had been in a critical condition in isolation at the intensive care unit of Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital after the condition was diagnosed last month.

She had travelled to South Africa a number of times over the last couple of years and began to feel unwell after returning home several months ago.

It is thought she contracted the virus, for which there is no cure, after being bitten or scratched by a dog she was looking after at an animal sanctuary.

Her death was confirmed in a statement from her grieving family.

Her three brothers said they had been devastated by her death but proud of the bravery with which she faced the deadly illness.

In a family statement, they said: "We are devastated by the loss of our sister Lisa. We are extremely proud not only of all she achieved in life but also of the bravery with which she fought her illness.

"Her courage was inspiring and typical of the passionate and determined way in which she led her life. Her loss will leave a huge hole in all our lives and her family and friends will miss her terribly."

It is believed she may have been infected as far back as December 2006 while working in an animal sanctuary in South Africa - she sent home emails at the time detailing how she had been scratched while separating two dogs.

One of the animals had to be put down after it started foaming at the mouth.

Rabies is extremely rare in the UK - there have been only 23 cases since 1946, the last in 2005, and all infections were acquired abroad. The last case in Northern Ireland was in 1938.

The last case of human rabies involving a dog bite suffered in the UK was more than a century ago in 1902.

There is no documented case of human-to-human transmission of rabies anywhere in the world.

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