Posted on 07/02/2026 4:19:37 PM PDT by BenLurkin
An 11-year-old from Canada has died after contracting rabies following contact with a bat.
According to a June Canadian Medical Association Journal report, the unnamed boy died several weeks after the bat landed on his face while vacationing with family in Northern Ontario in the summer of 2024.
The bat was reportedly on his nose and face when he woke up, and he swatted it away before his father caught it and later released it.
Due to a lack of evident scratches and bite marks, the boy was left untreated for approximately 19 days before he began to develop facial numbness and began to vomit consistently.
An urgent care reportedly treated him for Bell’s palsy before his condition worsened. The family took him to an emergency department, where he received treatment for rabies after doctors learned of his interaction with the bat.
Notwithstanding the care, the boy’s condition worsened...
(Excerpt) Read more at ktla.com ...
But the 45 day wait for the start of his Rabies vaccine was well underway.
If the dad had kept the bat they could have tested it.
If he had been treated he would have probably lived.
The shots are no fun, although not as bad as they were but they are way ahead of dying.
Well, if the boy didn’t have scratches or a bite mark, how did he contract rabies?
Rabies being spread via bat guano is atypical. Extremely rare.
What an awful way to die, and so young.
On my first honeymoon in a cabin in Maine, we woke up to find a bat flying around the bedroom.
I finally trapped it in a waste basket while my (ex) husband hid under the covers.
Did I mention that he’s my ... “ex”?
The Ebola virus is spread by bats. People get it by contact with the animals the bats have bitten.
About ten years ago, I was attacked by a feral cat, which was certainly not behaving normally, and which we could neither kill nor capture. Had to do the rabies vaccines, a whole weeks worth. The worst part was the Gaba globulin shot that preceded the rabies vaccine. Hurt like hell. Most definitely better than rabies though. (the treatment was about forty thousand bucks, though). Want to learn all about stress and worry; start wondering if you have been exposed to rabies-——
My MD pal says there has never been one case of rabies transmitted from a domestic dog or cat to a human in the history of the US. Bats, raccoons, rats, but not from dogs or cats (a very small % of which are vaccinated).
There is a reason we are so protective of anything hitting our faces. It is a main area of vulnerability.
Still best not to risk your life on that.
They were on vacation and tho’ it doesn’t state it, maybe they were camping? I was terrified of bats when I was a kid...I don’t remember seeing any but growing up on a farm, I always thought they could be in the barns or stables..
Maybe not one documented case, but... I bet there have been.
Well it isn’t on the internet it didn’t happen
Small % of cats & dogs get rabies shots? Really?
Crazy. Where I grew up hanta virus was the big worry. I have had bags fly in to my house. Never even thought about rabies.
Ex - I think I would have made that happen before the honeymoon was over...never had any contact with bats but feared them growing up on a farm and hated WORMS - apple tree worms or any other kind...
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