An 11-year-old boy died of rabies after coming into contact with a bat without being bitten
The tragic case of an 11-year-old boy in Canada who died of rabies after coming into contact with a bat has prompted a serious warning from the medical community.
Despite the absence of visible skin lesions, the infection proved fatal, underscoring the extreme danger of even brief contact with these animals.
The incident occurred in the summer of 2024 during a family vacation at a cottage in northern Ontario.
One morning, the child woke up to find a bat lying directly on his nose and mouth. According to CBC, the child’s father quickly removed the animal from his son’s face, caught it in a pot, and released it into the wild.
Since there were no signs of bites or scratches on the boy’s body, his parents decided not to seek medical attention immediately after the incident.
This decision proved fatal, as the rabies virus can be transmitted even through minimal contact with mucous membranes or through micro-tears invisible to the naked eye.
It was not until 19 days after contact with the animal that the child was taken to the emergency room.
The boy developed alarming symptoms: vomiting, tingling, and numbness in his face, indicating damage to the nervous system.
During further examination, specialists diagnosed him with rabies, although the doctors never found any bite wounds characteristic of the disease.
Unfortunately, the patient’s life could not be saved, as rabies is almost always fatal once clinical symptoms appear.
The boy’s story was recently published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) with the aim of preventing similar tragedies in the future.
The risk of rabies is rising in Ukraine due to the effects of the war
The demand for rabies vaccine has risen sharply in Ukraine
