Over the past few weeks, 25 Norwegians have been bitten by dogs, cats, rats and a monkey on holiday abroad, showing an overview from the damage center to European Travel Insurance.
“You should be careful when dealing with animals abroad, partly because they can carry infection. And remember that animals are animals. They can change behavior abruptly,” says information manager Sigmund Clementz in the insurance company If.
Norwegians have in the past month been bitten by dogs in, for example, Spain, Russia, France, Thailand, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Sri Lanka. One person got cat bites in Cuba, while others were bitten by monkeys in Thailand.
A Norwegian woman experienced being bitten by a rat while she was eating at a restaurant in Greece.
“In animal bites and scratches it is important to get the wound cleaned quickly and to go to the doctor for examination and treatment,” says medical adviser and nurse Line Sørbø in European Travel Insurance, which is part of If.
“In countries with rabies it will be important to get rabies vaccination. In animal bites, tetanus is also relevant,” she says.
Earlier this year a Norwegian woman died of rabies after being bitten by a puppy in the Philippines. The lethal viral disease is transmitted via body fluid, usually as a result of bites.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
