In brief
An 11‑year‑old boy in Ontario contracted rabies after a bat landed on his face during a family cottage visit. The virus progressed rapidly after the boy’s family delayed seeking medical care. He was eventually admitted to intensive care, but treatment failed and he died 17 days later. The incident underscores the rarity but severity of rabies in Canada and the critical need for immediate protection after bat contact.
An 11‑year‑old Canadian boy has died from rabies after a bat landed on his face.
The incident occurred in 2024 while the child was visiting a cottage in Ontario with his family. After waking to a bat on his nose and mouth, the boy swatted the mammal off and his father captured it in a pot only to release it outside.
Because the boy showed no obvious wounds and the family did not think the bat was behaving abnormally, they did not seek medical attention immediately. 19 days later, he began experiencing facial numbness and swelling, prompting an emergency visit.
The first clinic prescribed antiviral medication to treat a presumed herpes infection, while later hospital visits suggested Bell’s palsy and then herpes gingivostomatitis. The boy’s condition worsened rapidly, with fever, difficulty swallowing, confusion and hallucinations. He was intubated and admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit.
Doctors at the University of Manitoba strongly suspected rabies, a diagnosis later confirmed by testing. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency identified a bat rabies virus variant. The boy died 17 days after admission.
He had no history of allergies, tick bites, sick contacts or recent travel outside Canada. Though rabies is rare here—28 human deaths since 1924—this case underscores the critical importance of post‑exposure prophylaxis after any direct contact with a bat. Once symptoms appear, rabies is almost always fatal.
