11-Year-Old Ontario Boy Dies of Rabies After Bat Encounter at Cottage

An 11-year-old boy died from rabies after waking to find a bat on his face during a 2024 visit to a cottage in northern Ontario. The case report published July 2 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal describes the progression from the encounter to death 36 days later. The boy swatted the bat away.

His father caught it in a pot and released it outside. The parents observed no scratches or bites and did not seek medical care at the time. Nineteen days after the encounter, the boy developed tingling, numbness and swelling on the right side of his face.

He received an initial diagnosis of herpes gingivostomatitis at an emergency clinic. His condition worsened the next day, leading to admission to intensive care with suspected rabies. An MRI revealed lesions on the brain stem.

Laboratory tests confirmed rabies infection with a bat rabies virus variant identified by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The medical team considered but declined direct administration of rabies antibodies into the brain due to the procedure's invasive nature and lack of established efficacy.

The boy developed a 39°C fever, difficulty swallowing, confusion and visual hallucinations before intubation.

He died 17 days after hospital admission. He had no history of allergies, sick contacts, tick bites or recent travel outside Canada. Rabies remains rare in Canada. There have been 28 human deaths from the disease since 1924, with the last confirmed case in Ontario occurring in 1967.

Doctors at the University of Manitoba’s Department of Pediatrics and Child Health stated they strongly suspected rabies upon admission.