An Ontario child has died of rabies after being exposed to a bat, a health official says.
According to Dr. Malcolm Lock, acting medical officer of health for the Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit, the child woke up with a bat in their room but the parents did not seek a rabies vaccination.
“Rabies is still an entity. It’s still circulating,” Lock said during a meeting of the Norfolk County board of health on Wednesday.
“The case that we had here, it was a child and basically they woke up with a bat in the room, the parents looked at the child and didn’t see any signs of a bite or scratches or saliva and didn’t seek getting the rabies vaccine so unfortunately, that child is now deceased.”
Lock added, “Nearly all the cases that we’ve had result in death so it’s extremely important that people that have any form of exposure seek the proper medical attention.”
He did not specify when that death occurred. Last month, Ontario documented its first human case of rabies in 60 years in Brant County, west of Hamilton.
Information about the person infected was not shared at that time.
There have been fewer than 30 human cases of rabies in Canada since 1924, with the last known case occurring in B.C. in 2019 due to a rabid bat.
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According to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), the last human case of rabies transmitted from a non-flying animal was in 1967. Since then, all human cases have been from exposure to bats or due to exposure to the disease while in another country.
The last known case of rabies in Ontario was in 2019, with the most recent case reported in 2012 due to exposure outside of the country though how they contracted it was not identified.
Rabies usually spreads through direct contact with saliva from an infected animal, such as through a bite or, less commonly, a scratch. Even very tiny bites or scratche which can be difficult to see can transmit the virus.
The symptoms of rabies typically take three to eight weeks to develop, according to PHAC, but this can also range from several days to many months. Once symptoms appear, death usually occurs within seven to 14 days, which is why the agency stresses to get treatment before symptoms develop if you learn you’ve been in contact with a bat.
Early rabies symptoms include fever, tiredness, headaches, and anxiety or irritability, but pain, tingling, numbness or itching around the area where the infected animal has scratched, bitten or licked may also be felt.
As the virus attacks the central nervous system, symptoms will worsen with neurologic symptoms taking the form of either encephalitic rabies and paralytic rabies.
The former is the most common type and occurs in about 80 per cent of patients and refers to inflammation and swelling of the brain and can include symptoms like anxiety, seizures, hallucinations, fear of water and fear of fresh air.
Paralytic rabies occurs in the other 20 per cent of patients and can include symptoms like weakness and gradual paralysis, often starting near the wound site.
Canadians are urged to contact their health care provider if they may have had exposure to an animal that may have had rabies, including any bat exposure and are developing symptoms, though it notes to go to hospital immediately if you think you’re developing rabies symptoms.
“It’s important to remember that rabies is almost always fatal once symptoms develop,” PHAC’s website on rabies symptoms and treatment reads. “It’s critical to contact your health care provider immediately, so that preventive treatment can be started.”
The treatment includes multiple injections of rabies post-exposure vaccine, with an added injection of antibodies needed to help fight the virus.
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