An 11-year-old Canadian boy died from rabies after waking up with a bat on his face during a 2024 cottage visit in Ontario, according to a report in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
The child swatted the bat away before his father captured and released it outside.
>>> US Soccer Confirms Balogun Suspension Cannot Be Appealed
The parents did not seek immediate medical care because the boy had no visible injuries.
Symptoms and Misdiagnosis
Symptoms began 19 days later with facial numbness and swelling.
Multiple clinic and hospital visits initially resulted in misdiagnoses of Bell's palsy and a mouth infection before his condition deteriorated rapidly.
The boy developed a 39C fever, difficulty swallowing, confusion, and hallucinations, leading to intensive care admission.
>>> Disney+ Premieres X-Men '97 Season 2 with New Apocalypse Origin
Doctors at the University of Manitoba strongly suspected rabies, which tests and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency later confirmed.
The child died 17 days after hospital admission, despite having no prior history of allergies or recent international travel.
Rabies infections remain extremely rare in Canada, causing only 28 deaths since 1924.
"This low rate of rabies is due to widespread, ongoing vaccination programs, and failure to continue these programs can and will result in a return of disease," states the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association.
>>> Costume Designers Reveal Wardrobe Secrets for Legally Blonde Prequel
The journal report emphasized that any direct human contact with a bat warrants immediate rabies postexposure prophylaxis. The viral infection becomes almost universally fatal once clinical symptoms manifest.
