A child's death from rabies in Ontario, Canada after coming in contact with a bat has sparked outrage in the country. The death, recorded as the first domestically acquired case of human rabies in the city since 1967, had led to doctors asking patients to get screened upon coming in contact with bats.
Local media reported that the child died at a hospital after presumably catching the virus from a bat. A doctor from the Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit in the Timiskaming region of Ontario confirmed the news at a board of health meeting on October 2, Canadian news agency CBC reported.
"They woke up with a bat in their room," Malcolm Lock, the doctor, said. "The parents looked, didn't see any signs of a bite or scratches or saliva, and didn't seek to get a rabies vaccine."
"It's extremely important anyone who has a form of exposure [to bats] seeks medical attention," he said, adding that the case indicates that rabies, a deadly disease, is still occurring in Canada. Lock recommended getting screened for the disease, upon coming in contact with bats, even if there are no prominent symptoms. He assured that the treatment if administered after quick detection, can be 100% effective.
Earlier, CBC reported about the boy's hospitalization. Dr Kieran Moore, Chief Medical Officer of Health for Ontario, had said in a statement that people who had come in close contact with the boy will be tested for rabies.
"If anyone in Ontario has direct physical contact with a bat, even if there is no visible bite or scratch, or if they have been bitten or exposed to saliva or infectious tissues from another animal species, they should seek immediate medical attention," Moore said
.
"The health care provider, in consultation with the local public health unit, will assess the risk of rabies and may offer vaccines to prevent infection."