Dr Sophie Williams, who entered a coma after falling ill on a research trip to Southern China, was flown to the Walton Centre from Bangkok today.
The conservation expert, 31, contracted Japanese encephalitis during a field expedition with students on July 6th. She was found unconscious after complaining of exhaustion and illness and was later taken to hospital for specialist treatment.
Williams, who is from Yorkshire, was working on a collaboration between Bangor University’s Treborth Botanical Garden and Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanic Garden.
Japanese encephalitis is a viral brain infection spread by mosquito bites, usually between livestock and birds. Though rare in travellers, the disease is common in the Far East, South East Asia, and the Pacific. It cannot be spread by humans.
Seren first reported Dr William’s illness on July 27th: https://www.seren.bangor.ac.uk/news-politics/uni-news/2015/07/27/bangor-university-lecturer-critically-ill-in-coma-caused-by-virus-in-china/
