He woke up to a bat in his room: a child dies of rabies in Canada

L’enfant s’est réveillé un matin avec une chauve-souris dans sa chambre (photo d’illustration). Todd Cravens – UNSPLASH

Un enfant est mort de la rage, dans le nord de l’Ontario, au Canada, après s’être réveillé avec une chauve-souris dans sa chambre.

“The parents looked at the child and saw no signs of a bite – from the bat -, scratches or saliva and did not seek a rabies vaccine […] This child is now deceased", summarized Malcolm Lock, public health consultant on Thursday, October 3, 2024, reports Le Journal de Montréal, reprinted in particular by BFM.

The child, whose age and sex are not specified, woke up one morning to a bat in his room. He did not appear to have come into contact with the animal and his parents did not seek to have him vaccinated against rabies.

Died in hospital

The child was taken to hospital, where he died. This is the first case of human rabies infection contracted in Ontario since 1967, according to Radio Canada. “It is very important for anyone who has been in contact with a bat to consult a doctor,”, the public health officer reminded on Canadian radio.

Rabies is still responsible for tens of thousands of human deaths each year, the Pasteur Institute points out. It can be effectively prevented by vaccination but is still fatal once the first signs of the disease declared. Transmission occurs by direct contact with the saliva of an animal contaminated by a bite, scratch or licking on the excoriated skin of a mucous membrane.

What symptoms ?

After a few days to a few months of incubation, symptoms begin with difficulty swallowing and anxiety. Hydrophobia is sometimes observed.

Once the signs have declared, the disease progresses to a coma and death within a few hours within a few days, according to the Pasteur Institute. Except for a few cases described, the outcome is always fatal when the disease is declared.