Man dies of rabies after apparent bat bite on neck

September 29, 2021 – An Illinois man in his 80s who woke up with a bat on his neck in mid-August died of rabies, marking the first human case of the disease in the Condition in over 65 years.

The man, whose name has not been released, resided in Lake County, just north of Chicago. She was advised to seek treatment for rabies after an apparent bat bite, which was in her bedroom. The bat tested positive for rabies after capture, but the man refused treatment.

A month later, the man’s health began to decline. He became ill with symptoms “compatible with rabies”, such as neck pain, headaches and difficulty speaking and controlling his arms, Illinois Department of Public Health officials said in a report. Press release. He died soon after. It was the first human case of rabies in Illinois since 1954, with the CDC confirming the diagnosis.

Wildlife experts later found a colony of bats living in the man’s house.

Although human cases of rabies are rare – only one to three cases are reported in the United States each year, Illinois health officials said – it is almost always fatal if preventative treatment is not started fairly quickly after exposure. If left untreated, rabies, which has the highest death rate of all diseases on earth, attack a person central nervous system, causing disease in the brain and death.

“Unfortunately, this case underscores the importance of educating the public about the risk of exposure to rabies in the United States,” Mark Pfister, executive director of the Lake County Department of Health, said in the statement. “Rabies infections in humans are rare in the United States. However, once symptoms appear, rabies is almost always fatal, so it is vital that an exposed person receive appropriate treatment to prevent the onset of rabies as soon as possible.

About 60,000 Americans seek treatment for rabies each year, according to state health officials.

While most people know if they’ve been bitten by a bat, this species has very small teeth, so “the bite mark may not be easy to see,” officials said in the statement.

“If you find yourself near a bat and you are not sure whether you have been exposed (for example, you wake up and find a bat in your room), do not release the bat. mouse as it should be appropriately captured for rabies testing. Call your doctor or local health department to help determine if you may have been exposed to rabies and if you need preventative treatment. Call your local animal care and control service to safely remove the bat, ”they advised.

A lab test should confirm if the bat has rabies; it’s not clear just by looking at it, they said. Post-exposure treatment is not necessary if the bat test is negative for rabies.

In Illinois, “bats are the species most commonly identified as having rabies,” officials said. More than 1,000 bats are tested for the disease in the state each year. So far in 2021, 30 bats have tested positive.