everyone sustained minor bites and scratches from the dog during this time - as most puppy owners do.

Birgitte, who was a health worker employed at Førde central hospital, patched up and sterilized the scrapes herself.

The cuts were so small that nobody saw the need for further medical supervision, the family said.

It was only after the 24-year-old had returned home to Norway that she began to feel unwell.

Initial symptoms of rabies include a fever and headaches, but as the disease worsens patients can suffer hallucinations, muscle spasms and respiratory failure.

Birgitte's family described her as a 'sunbeam' with a warm heart who loved animals and just wanted to help

Birgitte (pictured) was a health worker and patched up and sterilized the cuts herself. Nobody, least of all her, connected the dog'scuts with her illness months later

Doctors struggled to diagnose the problem and no one, not even Birgitte herself, connected her illness to the dog bite.

It has been over 200 years since rabies was last detected on the Norwegian mainland.

She was hospitalized several times as her condition worsened, before eventually being admitted full time, the family said.

Birgitte began to feel unwell weeks after returning home from the Philippines

Finally, a doctor in the hospital in Førde suspected that Birgitte's symptoms were signs of rabies.

Samples sent to the Public Health Authority in Sweden confirmed these suspicions on Saturday.

Neither Birgitte nor anyone she was travelling with had been inoculated against the disease, because it is not on the list of vaccines required for the Philippines unless you plan to travel to areas