Things About Nightmares When a Child Dies of Rabies After a Bat Breaks into the Bedroom While They Were Sleeping

A child in Ontario, Canada, has died of rabies after contact with a bat, the first case confirmed there since 1967.

The unidentified child had been in the hospital since early September after waking up one morning to a bat in their room. Officials have withheld the child’s name, age and gender to protect the family’s privacy.

The rabies virus is transmitted to humans through the saliva of infected animals, including bats, raccoons, skunks, foxes and coyotes. However, the Ontario child’s parents saw no signs of a bite and did not vaccinate the child against rabies after the incident.

Rabies has one of the highest mortality rates of any virus – almost 100 percent – ​​with fewer than twenty documented survivors.

The child showed no signs of a bite or scratch from the bat, so the parents did not administer a rabies vaccine

Rabies kills about 70,000 people worldwide every year, although most deaths are concentrated in countries with inadequate public health resources, such as far-reaching human and animal vaccination programs.

Fewer than ten cases of rabies occur each year in the US. That percentage was once more than 100 before the advent of human and pet vaccines in the late 1800s.

The vaccine can be given after a person has been exposed and is 100 percent effective if given within 48 hours of exposure.

The Ontario child’s death was announced at a health board meeting Wednesday by Malcolm Lock, a physician at the Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit.

He said: ‘They woke up to a bat in their room.

“The parents looked, saw no signs of a bite, scratches or saliva and did not attempt to get a rabies vaccine.”

The unnamed child was displayed in an area north of Sudbury, Ontario, a rugged landscape with hundreds of lakes and at least four different species of bats.

A bat’s canines are incredibly small, and someone bitten by the animal may not be able to see the mark. That’s why doctors recommend anyone who has come into contact with a bat to get a rabies vaccine.

Although common beliefs about rabies may lead people to think that all infected animals are aggressive or show signs of foaming at the mouth, changes in an animal’s usual behavior can be early indicators of rabies.

A bat that is active during the day, is found on the ground, or appears unable to fly should be treated with caution.

Large portions of Ontario’s bat population have been wiped out since the arrival of white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease first discovered in New York in 2006. ​​It causes a white fungal growth on the bats, which causes their skin to disintegrate over time.

It disrupts their ability to hibernate. Waking up early kicks in their metabolism and uses up the fat reserves they have stored for the winter as they struggle to find food, leaving them malnourished and lacking energy.

But bats are essential to the environment and keep insect populations in check, which helps maintain an area’s ecosystem, protect against disease and protect crops from pests.

The map above shows which animals in certain areas are most likely to be infected with rabies

Rabies affects bats in the same way it affects humans.

Once the virus reaches the brain, it attaches to nerve cells where it can multiply uncontrollably and rapidly, causing a constellation of symptoms starting with fever, fatigue and headache.

As the infection progresses, it leads to respiratory spasms that cause gasping, wheezing, and tightness in the chest.

It also causes spasms in the throat while swallowing when trying to drink water, causing a person to worry about drinking water, also known as hydrophobia. People with rabies usually die severely dehydrated.

Rabies changes a person’s mental state, causing confusion, agitation and aggression, and in some cases, seizures. As the disease worsens, paralysis occurs, starting with the limbs.

The infection almost always results in coma and death within weeks of onset if a vaccine is not administered quickly.

Dogs are the main carriers of rabies worldwide. But in the U.S., about 70 percent of rabies infections are caused by exposure to bats.

Dr. Lock said: ‘It is extremely important that anyone who has any form of exposure [to bats] seeks medical attention,” adding that treatment and vaccination should be sought promptly, even if bite marks are not immediately visible.”