ℙ𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕠𝕟 𝕕𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕣𝕒𝕓𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝔸𝕦𝕔𝕜𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕚𝕟 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨𝕟 ℕ𝕖𝕨 ℤ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕔𝕒𝕤𝕖

𝔸 ℙ𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕠𝕟 𝕚𝕤 𝕣𝕖𝕡𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕕𝕚𝕖𝕕 𝕒𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 ℝ𝕒𝕓𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕖𝕒𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕚𝕞𝕡𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕚𝕣 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕕𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕥𝕠 𝔸𝕠𝕥𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕠𝕒 ℕ𝕖𝕨 ℤ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕.

A

person has died of rabies in Auckland in what health authorities say is the first known case of the disease in New Zealand.

They were an overseas traveller and contracted it abroad.

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Te Whatu Ora director of public health Dr Nick Jones said person to person transmission of rabies was extremely rare, almost unknown, so there was no risk to members of the public.

"The person was notified as having suspected rabies when first admitted to hospital in early March so was managed with full infection control measures while at Auckland City Hospital and at Whangārei Hospital where they were first diagnosed," Te Whatu Ora said in a statement.

"Rabies is usually caught from the saliva of an infected animal when a person is bitten. If the person does not seek treatment between being bitten and the development of symptoms, then rabies is usually fatal."

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No further details will be released, to protect the person's identity.

Te Whatu Ora said New Zealand did not have rabies in its animal or human populations and the case did not change our rabies-free status.

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