The death of an 11-year-old boy in Ontario, Canada, has medical professionals urging people to immediately get checked out if they’ve had any kind of encounter with a bat. Normally, a bat can transmit rabies through a scratch or bite, but in this particular case, detailed in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, it is definitely unusual, as the boy had no visible bite marks or scratches.
The boy woke up to find a bat resting over his nose and mouth. The bat wasn’t aggressive and didn’t leave behind any wounds, so the family didn’t seek treatment. It was just a weird story that the kid will be telling for years to come. 19 days later, he started vomiting, experienced facial numbness, and felt some tingling before a fever set in, along with confusion, hallucinations, difficulty swallowing, and all the other neurological symptoms consistent with rabies.
The doctors were able to diagnose it quickly, but by then it was too late. He became Ontario’s first locally acquired rabies fatality since 1967.
Doctors Say You Should Never Ignore a Close Encounter With a Bat
Rabies is one of the deadliest diseases on earth. Once symptoms set in, survival is rare, with fewer than three dozen documented survivors worldwide. One reason bats are such effective carriers of the disease is that their teeth and claws are so small that bites and scratches can be difficult to detect, leaving people convinced nothing happened when they might have been exposed.
But for as easily transmittable as it is from a bat, and for as deadly as it can be once symptoms begin, the good news is that rabies is also one of the most preventable fatal diseases out there. Post-exposure prophylaxis is a combination of antibodies and vaccines administered before symptoms develop, and it’s quite effective. The consensus among doctors is that if you think you’ve been in direct contact with a bat, don’t inspect yourself for any puncture marks and assume you’re okay.
Immediately seek medical attention and let health officials determine whether treatment is necessary, as they know what to look for.
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