{"id":4372,"date":"2025-07-17T06:45:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T06:45:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/4372\/"},"modified":"2025-07-17T06:45:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T06:45:09","slug":"dad-dies-after-being-bitten-by-bat-as-he-tried-to-free-it-from-his-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/4372\/","title":{"rendered":"Dad dies after being bitten by bat as he tried to free it from his home"},"content":{"rendered":"

A family was left devastated after a dad-of-two contracted a deadly disease similar to rabies when he was bitten by a rabid bat as he tried to remove it from his homeCraig Nolte died after contracting a disease similar to rabies(Image: Facebook)<\/p>\n

A dad of two tragically died after being bitten<\/a> by a bat in a case reported to be a regional first.<\/p>\n

Craig ‘Zeb’ Nolte, 56, died this month<\/a> after he was bitten by a bat when he tried to set the creature free after it became stuck in the verandah of his home.<\/p>\n

The bite<\/a> in October last year saw Mr Nolte, a carpenter, contract the Australian bat lyssavirus (ABLV). This is believed to be the first case in New South Wales, Australia<\/a>, and the fourth in the country overall.<\/p>\n

\"MrA friend said Mr Notle was ‘full of life’ only a few months ago(Image: Facebook)<\/p>\n

NSW Health confirmed comments from Mr Nolte\u2019s wife Robyn that her husband had received a prophylaxis immunoglobulin injection after the bite occurred. Robyn had said in a social media post that NSW health was \u201cstill grappling in their words [about] how this happened that the injection didn’t work\u201d.<\/p>\n

NSW Health, which offered its \u201csincere condolences\u201d, said Mr Nolte received initial treatment but that he developed symptoms of the virus, which is incurable, and fell into a critical condition, the Daily Mail reported.<\/p>\n

The health body also said that an investigation is underway into the the circumstances of Mr Nolte\u2019s illness. \u201cPost-exposure prophylaxis for lyssavirus exposure includes both immunoglobulin and at least four vaccines given over several weeks,\u201d NSW Health said. \u201cThe treatment is very safe and has been proven worldwide to be highly effective.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MrMr Nolte and his wife Robyn(Image: Facebook)<\/p>\n

Friends paid tribute to Mr Nolte on social media and shared their shock at his death this month. One friend confirmed on July 1 that Mr Nolte was on life support with only a \u201cfew days left\u201d.<\/p>\n

One person responded that they \u201chad a surf\u201d with him a \u201ccouple of months ago\u201d and he was \u201cfull of life and keen to get into the water more\u201d. Another said they were in \u201cdisbelief\u201d at the news.<\/p>\n

NSW Health said ABLV is similar to rabies. \u201cRabies virus and Australian bat lyssavirus (ABLV) belong to a group of viruses called lyssaviruses,\u201d the body explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese viruses transmit via a bite from an infected (“rabid”) animal. They all cause a similar illness known as rabies, which affects the central nervous system and is usually fatal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Early symptoms include fatigue, a headache and fever. This can progress into delirium, convulsions, paralysis and eventually death.<\/p>\n

The other three cases of the disease recorded in Australia, including that of an eight-year-old boy in Queensland in 2013, all resulted in deaths.<\/p>\n

NSW Health warned people who travel to the country that \u201cpeople who come into contact with wild or domestic mammals, including bats, in a rabies endemic country are at increased risk of rabies infection\u201d.<\/p>\n

If bitten – the advice remains the same for those who have been vaccinated or not – then the advice is to immediately wash the wound with soap and water for at least 15 minutes. Antiseptic with an anti-virus action should also be applied and medical attention sought.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A family was left devastated after a dad-of-two contracted a deadly disease similar to rabies when he was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4373,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[59,102,2764,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-4372","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-gb","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-rabies","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom","13":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4372"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4372\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}