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11-Year-Old Ontario Boy Dies of Rabies After Bat Encounter at Cottage
An 11-year-old boy in Ontario died after contracting rabies from a bat encountered at a northern cottage. The case followed a 19-day incubation period with initial symptoms misdiagnosed as Bell's palsy.
Jul 2, 6:31 AM·1m read4 sources
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An 11-year-old boy in Ontario died of rabies after he awoke in the middle of the night to find a bat on his face while staying at a cottage in northern Ontario. The boy swatted the bat away. His father caught the animal with a pot and released it outside.
The family did not seek medical advice immediately because the boy showed no visible lesions or bite marks and the bat displayed no erratic behavior. Approximately 19 days later the boy developed facial numbness and swelling. An urgent care clinic prescribed antiviral medication for suspected Bell's palsy.
Subsequent hospital visits led to a diagnosis of severe herpes gingivostomatitis. The boy then developed a fever of 39.1°C, difficulty swallowing, confusion, hallucinations and hypersalivation. Staff intubated him and transferred him to a paediatric intensive care unit.
Rabies was suspected on arrival. Laboratory confirmation of a bat rabies virus variant occurred on the fourth hospital day. Brain stem reflexes were absent by hospital day five. Life-sustaining therapies were withdrawn on hospital day 17; the boy died the same day.
Canada has recorded 28 human rabies deaths since 1924.
