A YOUNG girl feared she was infected with rabies after being bitten by a monkey in a popular Brit island holiday spot.
Aussie mum Flavia McDonald was with her husband and 12-year-old daughter Lorena in when a split-second encounter with a monkey turned their holiday upside down.
Flavia McDonald (centre) took her daughter Lorena (left) and husband to Bali on a surprise Father’s Day trip
Lorena was bitten by a monkey in Ubud during their trip
The bite was bleeding and inflamed, leaving the family in fear of a rabies infection +
The trio were on the Indonesian island for a last-minute getaway.
“My daughter had the idea of finding some sun after so much rain in as a surprise for her dad,” Flavia said.
“So we gave him the surprise on [the] Saturday before flying out the next day on Father’s Day morning to Bali.
“We thought it would be a memorable week … being by the pool in sunny Bali would be remarkable.”
Having already been to Bali “many times”, Flavia told new.com.au that she had been apprehensive to travel there with her children.
“I had since hesitated about [Bali] with kids because of Bali belly,” she said.
“I thought maybe when she [Lorena] was older we could enjoy it more.”
After a few days of unfavourable tropical , the family decided to venture out to Ubud to visit the famous monkey forest, where the local forecast showed less rain.
“Ubud would be something different… something fun,” Flavia said.
“We decided to do a half day on the Wednesday… there were storms forecast in the afternoon, we thought the park would take us an hour and a half in the morning and we would be able to return to Seminyak by 12pm.”
Flavia said the park was “super busy” when they arrived.
After being informed of the safety regulations, the McDonald family ventured into the park.
“We walked around for about 40 minutes, within one area of the park there’s an amphitheatre where people can sit,” she said.
“We could see monkeys, but none literally on or around people. But within one minute, a monkey jumped on my husbands shoulders… and within seconds it went from his shoulder to my daughter’s.”
Flavia said Lorena was “paralysed with fear”.
Lorena was bitten after a recent spike in rabies infections on the Indonesian island
Safety guides instruct tourists not to make eye contact with the monkeys
The monkeys roam free in the popular monkey forest in Bali
“We knew we couldn’t make any abrupt movements,” she said.
“So the monkey started pulling at her shirt, her pockets, looking in her top.”
Flavia said she approached her daughter to attempt to “shush [the monkey] away”, when it bit her on the neck.
The monkey pierced her skin and she started bleeding.
“I was petrified but wanted to keep calm so she wouldn’t panic … and makes things worse,” she said.
“I looked down at her neck, and I just said ‘oh my God'”.
Flavia said her daughter had been experiencing sunstroke, so she didn’t feel the pain of the bite.
“She thought it was a scratch… but then we saw the bite mark with blood,” Flavia added.
“The whole thing was just so fast.”
The medical bill cost the family more than £3070
More than 1200 monkeys live in the Ubud forest
Despite warnings, tourists often take pictures with the monkeys in the forest (stock image)
The first aid staff at the sanctuary dismissed Flavia’s fears of rabies, saying “the monkeys were very clean”, and just washed the wound with soap and water.
“They kept saying we don’t need to worry,” she said.
“She was bleeding … I was exploding inside – all my research was saying this was very dangerous and she needs to go to a clinic with the rabies vaccine.”
The family rushed to an Ubud clinic, where Lorena’s treatment bill caused further shock.
Totalling just over £3070 ($6300 AUD), Flavia had to dip into her personal savings to pay for the vaccine on the spot, as they couldn’t access their travel funds immediately.
“It was ridiculous,” she said.
“One of the injections actually had to go into the area of the bite… I have never seen [my daughter] scream like the way she did in that hospital.”
The family had followed all safety instructions while in the monkey forest
The incident ‘ruined’ the family holiday
Lorena ended up receiving four vaccines, one directly inside the bite, one below the bite, one in the arm and one in the leg.
Flavia said she was also instructed to take medication for herpes virus B infection as well.
Lorena’s attack comes after were warned about rabies due to the island recording a spike in infections.
Rabies-positive animals have been detected in ‘red zone’ areas including South Kuta, Nusa-Dua, Tanjung Benoa, Jimbara and Canggu.
Acting head of animal Anak Agung Istri Brahmi Witari said no more than five were responsible for the spike in cases.
He said South Kuta was a dominant red zone due to the bushy terrain.
“It is used as a nest by wild dogs and this is one of the reasons,” he said.
In August Smart Traveller issued a warning that rabies was presently a risk through and the disease was 100 per cent fatal.
The website said the deadly disease was mainly transmitted by bites from infected dogs, cats and monkeys but could also be transmitted by other mammals.
Travellers have since been urged to get vaccinated for the disease before heading to Bali.
Flavia said she hoped their story would spread awareness for anyone heading to the popular island destination.
“If I had read anything like this, anything similar, I would have had a different approach to going to the park,” she said.
“I would’ve been a little more aware that something like this can actually happen, it ruined the trip for us.”
Flavia wants their story to be a warning to other travellers 
