A child has died of rabies after being bit by a bat while they slept.
The child was rushed to hospital following the incident with the rabid animal last month. Officials have withheld the child’s name, age, and gender to protect the family’s privacy.
The child, was, however, being treated at a hospital in Ontario in Canada after the incident in an area north of Sudbury, Ontario. The death marks the first confirmed rabies case in the Canadian city since 1967.
The parents of the child did not see any signs of infection. After the incident, the child did not receive a vaccination against rabies. The virus has one of the highest mortality rates, with nearly 100% of people infected by a rabid animal dying.
Rabies can be transmitted to humans through a number of animals, including bats, raccoons, coyotes, foxes and skunks. A vaccine for the virus is available and has a 100% effective rate against it if administered within 48 hours.
As reported in the Mirror, the death was announced by Malcolm Lock, a doctor at the Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit at a health board meeting on October 2.
He said: “They woke up with a bat in their room. The parents looked, didn’t see any signs of a bite or scratches or saliva and didn’t seek getting a rabies vaccine.”
Bats have small fangs, meaning it is difficult to see potential bite marks. Medics recommend anyone who comes into contact with a bat to get a rabies vaccine. Bats found active during the day, on the ground or unable to fly should be treated with caution.
Ontario’s bat population has shrunk since the discovery of a fungal disease in 2006. The disease was found in New York and causes fungal growth on bat skin, which then disintegrates over time.
It disrupts the animal’s ability to hibernate and causes them to feel malnourished and lack energy. Rabies affects bats similarly to how it affects humans – with the nerve cells in the brain replicated rapidly and causing a series of key symptoms.
Fatigue, fever and headaches are all early signs of the infection which then advances into respiratory spasms and a tightness in the chest. A mental status can also change, with confusion, aggression and seizures all seen in patients who may also have to deal with limb paralysis as the infection takes over.
Rabies almost always leads to a coma and death within a few weeks after the onset if the vaccine is not administered properly.
Dr Lock added: “It’s extremely important that anyone who has a form of exposure [to bats] seeks medical attention,’ adding that treatment and vaccination should be quickly sought, even if bite marks are not immediately visible.”
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