An 11-year-old boy in Canada died of rabies after waking to find a bat lying on his nose and mouth.
The child was staying at a cottage with his family in Ontario in 2024 when the incident occurred, according to a report published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal on Tuesday.
The boy swatted the animal away before it was caught in a pot by his father and released outside.
His parents did not seek medical attention due to a lack of visible injuries and the animal’s lack of erratic behaviour.
But nearly three weeks later, the boy began experiencing tingling, numbness and swelling to the right side of his face, according to the case report.
Following visits to an urgent care clinic and the emergency department of a hospital days later, the child was initially presumed to have severe herpes gingivostomatitis with Bell’s palsy, which causes swelling to part of the face, and was discharged.
He returned to the emergency department the next morning after his symptoms worsened. But while awaiting admission, the boy began experiencing a fever of 39C, discomfort swallowing, confusion, and visual hallucinations.
His condition continued to deteriorate, and by evening the child was intubated and taken to the paediatric intensive care unit.
Doctors at the University of Manitoba, Canada's Department of Paediatrics and Child Health said they strongly suspected rabies.
Four days after he was admitted, the boy was diagnosed with the viral disease, with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirming a bat rabies virus variant.
The boy “died peacefully with his family at his bedside” 13 days later.
While rabies kills almost 60,000 people worldwide each year, there have been just 28 cases in Canada since 1924, according to the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association.
There are no effective treatments for the disease.
SHARE ME