An 11-year-old boy in Ontario, Canada, has died from rabies less than three weeks after waking up to find a bat lying across his nose and mouth, despite having no visible bite or scratch marks.
According to a report published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), the child developed symptoms 19 days after the encounter. He experienced vomiting, facial tingling described as “pins and needles,” and numbness before being taken to an emergency department.
Doctors provided supportive treatment, as there is currently no cure for rabies once symptoms begin to appear. The boy later died from the infection.
His parents, who were not identified, agreed to share their son’s story to raise public awareness about the dangers of rabies and the importance of seeking immediate medical attention after contact with potentially infected animals.
The case marks Ontario’s first recorded rabies-related death in more than 50 years.
Medical experts say the incident highlights the need for prompt post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), a preventive treatment consisting of rabies vaccines and human rabies immune globulin. The treatment is highly effective when administered before symptoms develop but is generally ineffective once the disease has progressed.
Rabies is almost always fatal after symptoms appear. In North America, bats are the leading carriers of the virus, although raccoons, skunks, and foxes can also transmit the disease. Because bat bites and scratches can be extremely small and difficult to detect, health officials advise treating any direct contact with a bat as a potential exposure.
Dr. Brian Hummel, a paediatric infectious disease specialist at McMaster Children’s Hospital and McMaster University in Ontario and co-author of the report, stressed the importance of seeking medical advice following any direct encounter with a bat.
“Any direct human contact with a bat, even without a visible bite or scratch, is an indication for post-exposure prophylaxis and should be discussed with public health authorities,” he said.
He noted that such encounters become more common during the summer months, increasing the importance of public awareness.
“Bats may or may not show classic signs of rabies, so any direct human contact with a bat is considered high risk,” Hummel added.
He advised that anyone who may have been exposed to a potentially rabid wild animal should seek immediate medical attention, notify public health authorities, and begin post-exposure treatment where appropriate.
Hummel also urged healthcare providers to consider possible exposure to rabid animals when evaluating patients with neurological symptoms that could be consistent with rabies, emphasizing that prevention remains the most effective defense against the disease.