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An 11-year-old boy died of a rabies infection in Ontario, Canada, according to a medical journal article published Monday.
Canadian Medical Association Journal did not identify the boy or his family, but wrote that he was first brought to a hospital weeks after an encounter with a bat.
“The patient’s family reported that, during a visit to a cottage in northern Ontario 19 days before symptom onset, the boy had been awoken by a bat on his nose and mouth. He had swatted the bat off his face; his father had caught the bat in a cooking pot and released it outside,” CMAJ wrote.
MEASLES-INFECTED TRAVELER MAY HAVE EXPOSED PASSENGERS AT LAX AND NEARBY HOTEL, HEALTH OFFICIALS WARN
“The child had no visible lesions on his face, and his parents did not consider that the bat had behaved erratically. Therefore, they did not seek medical assessment,” the journal noted.
The boy was ultimately admitted to the hospital 20 days after the encounter with the bat, when his parents brought him to an emergency room. He was first sent home but then brought back the following morning and admitted to the hospital.
Doctors noted that the boy’s condition “rapidly worsened” by the evening, but he spent more than two weeks in the hospital before passing away.
MEASLES-INFECTED TRAVELER MAY HAVE EXPOSED PASSENGERS AT LAX AND NEARBY HOTEL, HEALTH OFFICIALS WARN
“By day 5 of admission, his brainstem reflexes were absent. Life-sustaining therapies were withdrawn on day 17 of admission, and he died peacefully with his family at his bedside,” the journal article said.
Doctors who authored the article warned that any direct human contact with a bat, even in the absence of a visible bite or scratch, should be discussed with public health authorities.
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Rabies is virtually always fatal in humans if not treated quickly with postexposure prophylaxis, or PEP. The treatment is nearly always successful if administered promptly after exposure.