A British woman has died of rabies after being bitten by a stray dog during a holiday to Goa in India.

The 39-year-old woman from Bury, Greater Manchester, died in hospital in Liverpool last Saturday.

Health workers who came into contact with the woman, whose family have asked that she not be named, have been offered inoculations as a precaution, but officials said no members of the public would have been at risk.

The woman, a shop assistant, fell ill after she returned to England from her holiday in early April.

She was admitted to Fairfield general hospital in Bury, where she was diagnosed with rabies, then transferred to the Walton Centre in Liverpool, a specialist centre for neurology and neurosurgery.

Her death was confirmed yesterday by the Health Protection Agency, which said: "The family has asked us not to make any further comment on this case and we intend to respect their request for privacy."