A child in the Canadian province of Ontario has died of rabies after being exposed to a bat in his bedroom, Canadian health officials said.
His death was made public by Dr. Malcolm Lock of the Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit, who told councilors at a board meeting on Wednesday that the unnamed child was found to be infected with the virus in an area north of Sudbury.
“They woke up with a bat in their bedroom,” said Dr. Lock, adding that the parents did not see signs of bites or scratches and did not receive the rabies vaccine as a result.
It marks the first domestic rabies case in Ontario since 1967.
The child, who did not match the age of the authorities, was rushed to the hospital after the incident at the beginning of September and eventually died.
Rabies is a rare but fatal disease that can be spread to humans by an infected animal – such as bats, coyotes, foxes or raccoons – usually through their saliva.
The disease, which can cause severe damage to the brain and spinal cord, is almost always fatal once symptoms have developed, according to the World Health Organization.
Dr. Lock said the percentage of bats with rabies in his southern Ontario region has increased from less than 10% to 16% in recent years.
“It’s very important that anyone has some kind of exposure [to bats] you want medical help,” he said, adding that treatment and vaccination should be sought as soon as possible, even if the symptoms of the bite are not immediately apparent.
According to Health Canada, the Canadian government’s health department, Cases of rabies in humans in the country are rare.
Since reporting began in 1924, there have been 28 cases of rabies in six states, all of which were fatal.
The health center said almost all human cases of rabies in Canada are the result of exposure to bats, or from exposure to rabies while in another country.
In the US, fewer than 10 people die from rabies each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This is a “significant decrease” since the 1960s, says the health center, which is largely driven by prevention efforts.
There were 25 cases of rabies recorded in the US from 2009 to 2018, the CDC said, seven of which were found outside the country.
Like Canada, people in the US are often exposed to rabies due to rabies bats, which are found in every US state except Hawaii.
In the UK, all rabies since 1902 have been the result of infection that occurred abroad, according to British government data. There have been 26 reported cases since 1946, all involving people infected outside the UK.
The most recent documented case was in 2018 involving a traveler who was bitten by a cat in Morocco.
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