11-Year-Old in Ontario Dies from Rabies After Bat Contact
An 11-year-old boy in northern Ontario died of rabies after a bat landed on his face, highlighting the difficulty of detecting bat bites and the importance of prompt post-exposure treatment.
An 11-year-old boy staying with relatives in northern Ontario woke to find a bat on his nose and mouth during the summer of 2024. He swatted the animal away and his father captured and released it outside. No visible injuries were observed and the child appeared normal, so his parents did not seek medical care.
Approximately 19 days later the boy developed facial numbness, vomiting, facial weakness, slurred speech, fever, difficulty swallowing, confusion and visual hallucinations. He was taken to urgent care, prescribed an antiviral, and later admitted to a hospital as his neurological condition worsened. Doctors diagnosed rabies, marking the first locally acquired case in Canada since 1967. After more than two weeks of intensive treatment, life support was withdrawn and the boy died.
Dr. Brian Hummel, a pediatric infectious disease specialist involved in the case, said the report aims to raise awareness of rabies risks from bat exposure, noting that bites can be so small they leave no trace. He added that symptomatic rabies is almost always fatal, but pre-symptomatic prevention is highly effective. Only 28 human rabies cases have been recorded in Canada since 1924.
