An 11-year-old boy from Canada died of rabies after waking up with a bat in his mouth.

The tragic incident took place in 2024, during a family vacation at a cottage in northern Ontario, according to a medical report published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

As pediatricians from the University of Manitoba report in the study, the child—who remains unnamed—woke up startled and swatted the bat away from his face with a sharp blow.

Since the boy had no visible bite marks, his parents were not concerned and did not seek medical attention.

However, 19 days later, the child began to feel a severe, progressive numbness on the right side of his face. This was soon followed by swelling and loss of appetite.

Four days after the first symptoms appeared, a local emergency clinic administered antiviral treatment for herpes, believing it to be Bell’s palsy (facial paralysis) caused by a herpes virus.

Three days later, as reported by CNN, the child was taken to the emergency room of a hospital in Ontario, as he was experiencing severe pain when swallowing and was vomiting. A clinical examination revealed sores on the gums and a mild dysfunction of the nerve that controls sensation on the right side of the face.

Although the family told the doctors about the bat incident—prompting the on-call doctor to notify health authorities the next day—the hospital ultimately discharged the child, sticking to the diagnosis of herpetic stomatitis.

The very next morning, the boy’s condition worsened. He returned to the hospital with paralysis on the right side of his face, loss of sensation, and slurred speech. While waiting to be admitted, he developed a high fever, difficulty swallowing, confusion, and visual hallucinations.

By evening, his condition had deteriorated rapidly. He was immediately intubated and transferred to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU).

“When we saw the patient in the ICU, the suspicion of rabies was now clear,” the doctors said. A PCR test confirmed their fears on the fourth day of his hospitalization, while Canada’s food safety authorities identified a strain of rabies transmitted by bats.

The unfortunate boy passed away after 17 days in the hospital.

What Is Rabies and How Is It Transmitted?

Rabies is a virus that attacks the central nervous system of humans and mammals. Once the first symptoms appear, the disease is nearly 100% fatal.

According to the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA), the virus is transmitted through saliva from the bite or scratch of an infected animal, or if the animal’s bodily fluids come into contact with mucous membranes (eyes, nose, mouth) or open wounds.

Although thousands of cases of rabies are reported in animals each year in Canada, the disease is extremely rare in humans. Since 1924, only 28 cases have been recorded nationwide, with the 11-year-old being the first domestic case in Ontario since 1967.

In the U.S., deaths from rabies do not exceed 10 per year; however, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warn that the virus remains a serious threat to public health, as it is endemic in wildlife in nearly all states.

Globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that rabies affects more than 150 countries —mainly in Africa and Asia—causing tens of thousands of deaths each year, with children under the age of 15 accounting for 40% of the victims.

Although 99% of human cases worldwide are caused by dog bites, in the Americas, where canine rabies has been brought under control, bats are the primary source of transmission. In Canada, raccoons and foxes are also common carriers.

Symptoms and Prevention

The incubation period in humans usually ranges from 20 to 60 days, although it can vary significantly. The initial symptoms resemble the flu (fever, headache, fatigue) or manifest as pain and irritation at the site of infection.

The disease then progresses to difficulty swallowing, excessive salivation, muscle spasms, seizures, severe anxiety, hydrophobia (fear of water or the act of swallowing water), and delirium.

Experts advise:

• Do not let pets roam unsupervised, and ensure they are vaccinated regularly.
• Never approach wild or unfamiliar animals, and report any that are behaving strangely to the authorities.
• Seal off any potential entry points in your home to prevent wild animals from entering.
• In the event of a bite or scratch, thoroughly wash the wound with soap and running water for 15 minutes, apply rubbing alcohol, and go to a hospital immediately.

If the so-called “post-exposure prophylaxis” (PEP)—which includes a vaccine regimen and the administration of specific immunoglobulin—is started immediately and before symptoms appear, rabies can be completely prevented. Once symptoms appear, there is no effective treatment, and death inevitably occurs within one to two weeks.

“Bats may not exhibit any of the classic symptoms of the disease. For this reason, any direct human contact with them must be treated from the outset as an extremely high-risk incident,” the doctors conclude.

Source: news247.gr