Canadian boy dies after bat on face infects him with rabies
An 11-year-old boy in Canada died after being infected with rabies following a bat landing on his face while he was sleeping, despite no visible wounds or bites.
Consensus
- An 11-year-old boy in Canada was infected with rabies after a bat landed on his face while he was sleeping.
- The boy showed symptoms 19 days after the incident, including numbness on one side of his face and severe vomiting.
- The family did not seek medical help initially because there were no visible wounds or blood.
- Doctors were unable to diagnose the condition early due to the family's denial of contact with the bat.
- The infection had already affected the nervous system by the time rabies was diagnosed.
- Despite two weeks of treatment, the boy died.
Points of divergence
- The boy's father caught the bat and released it outside. — vm
- The bat landed on the boy because it was blocking his breathing, causing him to wake up. — m24
- The article mentions a bat entering a home in Shchukino, Moscow, during springtime, and gives safety advice from expert Eduard Khalilov. — vm
Coverage (2 sources)
- A bat landed on the face of a sleeping child in Canada and infected him with rabies — Вечерняя Москва
- CMAJ: In Canada, a child died after a bat landed on his face — Москва 24