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An 11-year-old boy in Ontario, Canada, died of rabies infection, according to a medical journal article published on Monday.
The Canadian Medical Association Journal did not identify the boy or his family, but wrote that he was first brought to hospital a few weeks after his encounter with the bat.
CMAJ wrote, “The patient’s family reported that, during a visit to a cottage in northern Ontario 19 days before symptom onset, the boy was awakened by a bat hitting his nose and mouth. He snatched the bat from his face; his father had caught the bat in a cooking pot and released it outside.”
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A common nocturnal bat (Nyctellus noctula) photographed in Kersdorf, Brandenburg on March 14, 2026. (Patrick Pleul/Image Combine via Getty Images)
The magazine said, “The child had no facial wounds and his parents did not feel that the bat had misbehaved. Therefore, they did not seek medical evaluation.”
The boy was eventually hospitalized 20 days after his encounter with the bat, when his parents brought him to the emergency room. He was first sent home but then brought back the next morning and admitted to the hospital.
rabies vaccination (iStock)
Doctors reported that the boy’s condition “rapidly deteriorated” by the evening, but he spent more than two weeks in the hospital before passing away.
Health officials warn that the traveler infected with measles may have come in contact with travelers at LAX and nearby hotels
The journal article states, “By the 5th day of admission, his brain responses were absent. On the 17th day of admission, life-sustaining treatments were withdrawn, and he died peacefully at his bedside with his family by his side.”
The doctors who wrote the article warned that any direct human contact with bats, even in the absence of visible bites or scratches, should be discussed with public health authorities.
FILE – This photo taken Nov. 1, 2018, shows veterinarian Amy Keith giving Lincoln a rabies shot while veterinary nurse and veterinarian assistant Nate Johnson walks by in Charleston, W.Va. Kay is feeding cheese to Lincoln at Valley West Veterinarian Hospital. The US government has begun distributing millions of packets of oral rabies vaccine by helicopters and planes across 13 states from Maine to Alabama. The main goal is to prevent the raccoon strain of the deadly virus from spreading to states where it has not been found or is not widespread, said Jordana Kirby, field testing coordinator. (Craig Hudson/Charleston Gazette-Mail via AP)
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Rabies is virtually always fatal in humans if not treated quickly with postexposure prophylaxis, or PEP. Treatment is almost always successful if treated promptly after exposure.
