Doctors detail 2024 Ontario child rabies death, warn public about contact with bats
Doctors say 11-year-old’s death was likely preventable because prompt post-exposure treatment can stop rabies before symptoms begin.
- An 11-year-old Ontario boy died from rabies after waking with a bat on his face, according to a report published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. He is the province's first locally acquired rabies fatality since 1967.
- Because the bat lacked aggressive behavior and left no visible bite marks or scratches, the boy's parents did not seek medical attention. Bats often transmit rabies through small teeth and claws difficult to detect.
- Nineteen days after the incident, the child developed facial numbness and tingling. A local clinic misdiagnosed the symptoms as Bell's palsy before his condition deteriorated with fever, confusion, and difficulty swallowing.
- Doctors admitted the boy to the pediatric intensive care unit, where a PCR test confirmed rabies on the fourth day of admission. He died on his 17th day in the hospital.
- Medical professionals urge anyone with potential bat contact to immediately seek medical attention rather than self-inspecting for wounds. Post-exposure prophylaxis is highly effective if administered before symptoms develop, though rabies remains nearly always fatal once symptoms appear.
232 Articles
232 Articles
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11-Year-Old Canadian Boy Tragically Loses His Life After Being Woken Up By A Bat On His Face
A healthy, immunocompetent 11-year-old Canadian boy passed away in 2024 due to a rare condition that takes fewer than 10 lives in the USA each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The tragedy occurred a little over a month after a bat seemingly bit the child during a vacation. His passing was recently discussed in a Canadian Medical Association Journal case study by doctors from the Department of Pediatrics an…
An 11-year-old boy woke up with a bat on his face. A month and a half later, he was dead.
He woke up with a bat on his face and drove him out. After a few days he began to feel sick; transported to the hospital, he had been diagnosed with...
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