An 11‑year‑old Canadian boy died of rabies after a bat landed on his nose and mouth while he slept, according to a report in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
The incident occurred during a family vacation at a cottage in Ontario in 2024, as detailed in a report published Monday in the journal.
The boy, whose identity was not disclosed, swatted the bat from his face. His father then captured the bat in a pot before releasing it outdoors.
Because there were no visible lesions and the bat appeared normal, the parents initially delayed medical care. Nineteen days later, the boy began to experience facial numbness and swelling.
The journal documented the family’s subsequent visits to emergency services, where both clinic and hospital physicians attempted to diagnose his condition.
An emergency clinic initially prescribed antiviral medication—typically used for herpes‑virus infections—assuming the child might have Bell’s palsy, a temporary facial muscle paralysis.
He then attended two consecutive hospital visits. The first yielded a provisional diagnosis of herpes gingivostomatitis, an infection of the mouth and gums. The following day he returned after experiencing weakness on the right side of his face, the journal notes.
While awaiting admission, his temperature rose to 39 °C (102 °F) and he developed difficulty swallowing, confusion, and visual hallucinations. His condition deteriorated sharply that day, leading to intubation and transfer to the pediatric intensive care unit.
Physicians at the University of Manitoba’s Department of Pediatrics and Child Health expressed strong suspicion that rabies was the cause.
Laboratory testing confirmed rabies a few days later, and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency identified a bat‑rabies virus variant.
He died 17 days after hospital admission.
His medical history was negative for allergies, known exposures, tick bites, or recent travel outside the nation.
Human rabies is rare in Canada. Since 1924, the country has recorded 28 human deaths from rabies, according to the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association.
The association notes that “the low incidence of rabies is a result of widespread, ongoing vaccination programs; failure to maintain them could lead to a resurgence of the disease.”
Any direct contact with a bat should trigger rabies post‑exposure prophylaxis, a medical treatment administered immediately after potential exposure to a rabid animal.
The report concludes that infection is almost universally fatal once clinical symptoms appear.
