A tragic and unusual case shocks Canada. And 11 year old boy died of rabia weeks after waking up in the middle of the night with a bat resting on his face, between his nose and mouth.
The family drama also became a strong call for international attention after it was revealed that doctors they confused the symptoms of the virus twice before it was too late.
The incident occurred during a visit to a cabin in northern Ontario in 2024, according to a report published Monday in the Journal of the Canadian Medical Association. The boy slapped the animal off his face and his father managed to catch it and free it.
Since the baby had no visible wound marks and the bat was not acting strangely, the parents decided not to search. medical attention immediate. It was the first mistake in a fatal chain.
From the nighttime slap to the first symptoms on the face
Nineteen days later, the baby began to feel tingling and numbness in his face, along with slight swelling and loss of appetite. In a medical ward they assumed that it was a common facial paralysis due to herpes virus and they sent him home with medicine.
The condition worsened quickly. Three days later, the boy was admitted to another hospital with vomiting and difficulty swallowing. The family explicitly warned about the bat episode. Despite the warning, the professionals maintained the misdiagnosis and they discharged him again.
Fever, hallucinations and the test that arrived too late
The next morning, the situation became critical. The baby returned with motor weakness, loss of sensitivity and difficulties speaking. He soon developed a fever, suffered confusion and visual hallucinations.
That same night he entered intensive therapy and was connected to an artificial respirator. A PCR test confirmed the bat rabies virus variant, but it was too late: The baby died after spending 17 days hospitalized.
How the virus is transmitted and what are the prevention measures
- Extreme mortality: Rabies attacks the central nervous system and, once symptoms appear, is almost 100% fatal.
- False myth: Infected bats do not always show signs of illness or leave visible bite marks.
- Key prevention: If there is direct contact with the animal, the application of the post-exposure vaccine is 100% effectivebut it must be done immediately. Once the disease manifests itself, it has no cure.
