A case of rabies has been confirmed in the UK, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) said on Wednesday. The potentially fatal disease was confirmed in a patient from London who was bitten by a dog in south Asia.

The patient, whose age and gender were not given, is receiving hospital treatment and all relevant contacts have been followed up, the HPA said.

Dr Brian McCloskey, director of the HPA for London, said: "It is important to stress that there is no risk to the general public as a result of this case or to patients and visitors at the hospital where the patient is receiving treatment.

"Despite there being tens of thousands of rabies cases each year worldwide, there have been no documented laboratory confirmed cases of human-to-human spread.

"Therefore the risk to other humans or animals from a patient with rabies is considered negligible.

"However, to take every possible precaution, family members and healthcare staff who had close contact with the patient since they became unwell – which is when they are infectious – have been assessed and offered vaccination if appropriate."

Rabies is usually transferred through saliva from the bite of an infected animal, with dogs being the most common transmitters to humans.

More than 55,000 people are estimated to die from rabies every year, with most cases occurring in developing countries, particularly south and south-east Asia.

Rabies has been eliminated from the animal population in the UK and human rabies is extremely rare here – the last time it was caught in the British isles was in 1902. Since then it has only been acquired abroad, mainly through dog bites, with 24 cases reported since 1946.

Professor David Brown, a rabies expert at the HPA, said only four cases of human rabies acquired from dogs have been identified since 2000, all occurring abroad.

He said: "Rabies is an acute viral infection, which is extremely rare in the United Kingdom.

"It is essential to get health advice if you are travelling to countries where rabies is common or if you know you will be working with animals.

"All travellers to a rabies-endemic country should avoid contact with cats, dogs and other animals wherever possible as you cannot be certain that there is no risk.

"Rabies vaccine is extremely effective at preventing rabies if you are bitten even when this is given some time after an exposure. If you do not seek medical treatment while abroad, you should still seek it when you come home."