The boy’s parents consented to the case being published in an official report in the Canadian Medical Association Journal<\/a> to raise awareness.<\/p>\n “Bats pose a particular risk because bites or scratches may be small and are easily overlooked, and patients may not recollect or recognize a bat exposure,” the boy’s medical team wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n “Any direct human contact with a bat, even in the absence of a visible bite or scratch, is an indication for PEP and should be discussed with public health authorities.”<\/p>\n Rabies is one of the deadliest infectious diseases known. The virus<\/a> attacks the nervous system after entering the body through infected saliva, most often via bites or scratches. Once symptoms begin, it is almost always fatal<\/a>; fewer than 35 survivors<\/a> have been documented worldwide.<\/p>\n Fortunately, human rabies is very preventable if treatment is administered before symptoms appear. This is called post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), and it consists of human rabies antibodies<\/a> plus a vaccine.<\/p>\n Part of the challenge is that the virus’s incubation period is unpredictable. Once transmitted, it can incubate for days to months<\/a>.<\/p>\n In addition, initial symptoms can be vague and nonspecific, including tingling and numbness, fever<\/a>, fatigue, and headaches, before progressing to more severe neurological symptoms.\u00a0<\/p>\n Globally, dogs are<\/a> the primary vector<\/a> of transmission, but any mammal<\/a> in a rabies-endemic country<\/a> can transmit rabies.<\/p>\n In North America, most cases are linked to exposure to bats<\/a>, which poses a particular problem because their teeth and claws are so small that wounds can be easy to miss.<\/p>\n The Ontario boy’s illness followed a pattern that doctors say is typical of rabies.<\/p>\n He initially presented to the hospital reporting vomiting, ‘pins and needles’ in his face, and numbness 19 days after his encounter with the bat.<\/p>\n Because of that history, the emergency physician notified the local public health authority to consider PEP. <\/p>\n However, because his initial symptoms also resembled more common illnesses, he was initially sent home with a presumed diagnosis of herpes gingivostomatitis<\/a>, an infection that causes painful mouth sores.<\/p>\n When he returned the next day, his condition had deteriorated dramatically.<\/p>\n He had developed fever, confusion, difficulty swallowing, excessive salivation, hallucinations, and multiple cranial nerve deficits.<\/p>\n Related: US Man Dies From Rabies After Receiving Infected Kidney<\/a><\/p>\n Doctors admitted him to intensive care and considered experimental therapies. <\/p>\n However, none were given because of the boy’s rapid neurological decline, the limited availability of the treatments, and the lack of evidence that they were effective.<\/p>\n “Life-sustaining therapies were withdrawn on day 17 of admission,” the doctors wrote<\/a>, “and he died peacefully with his family at his bedside.”<\/p>\n Simply finding a bat in your room is not considered a sufficient reason to seek PEP.<\/p>\n However, if you find a bat and can’t rule out contact<\/a>, the bat should be captured if possible and tested for rabies.<\/p>\n The boy’s doctors urge that anyone who experiences direct contact, no matter how fleeting, and no matter how normal the bat appears to behave, should immediately seek medical attention.<\/p>\n The case has been described in the Canadian Medical Association Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n This article was fact-checked by Clare Watson<\/a> and edited by Rebecca Dyer<\/a>. If you spot a mistake, please let us know<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After the death of a child in Ontario, Canada, doctors are urging people to seek medical attention after…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":523736,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[103,61,60,2209],"class_list":["post-523735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-msft-content"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=523735"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523735\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/523736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=523735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=523735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=523735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"YouTube](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1765192207_499_0.jpg\")
frameborder=”0\u2033 allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen><\/p>\n![\"Ontario](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/MapOfRabiesRiskInUS.jpg\")
Bats present the greatest rabies risk in the US, but other animals can transmit the virus. (CDC<\/a>)<\/p>\n![\"Subscribe](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/FOMO-1200x628-_Dont-miss-the-next-breakthrough_-cosmic-colourful-642x336.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n