Brantford, Ont.-area child dies from rabies after contact with a bat, health official says – CBC

The public is advised to seek immediate medical attention if you came in contact with bats

Oct 03, 2024

A child from the Brantford, Ont., area has died from rabies, says a local medical officer of health.

Dr. Malcolm Lock of the Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit told councillors at a board of health meeting Wednesday that the child had been exposed to the virus in the Timiskaming region, just north of Sudbury.

“They woke up with a bat in their room,” Lock said. “The parents looked, didn’t see any signs of a bite or scratches or saliva, and didn’t seek getting a rabies vaccine.”

Last month, the child was in hospital. No other details, including the child’s age, have been released.

It is the first domestically acquired case of human rabies in Ontario since 1967 and the first ever of a Brantford-Brant resident.

This case demonstrates that rabies, which can cause severe damage to the brain and spinal cord, is still circulating, Lock said.

Read mre: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/rabies-death-1.7341335

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