Ontario boy’s fatal rabies case linked to bat exposure highlights risk and delays in treatment

An 11-year-old in Ontario died from rabies after waking to find a bat on his face during a 2024 cottage stay. The bat was removed outside, and the family did not seek immediate medical care, despite guidance to evaluate any direct bat contact for possible rabies. Weeks later he developed facial swelling and paralysis, was misdiagnosed with herpes and Bell’s palsy, and his condition rapidly worsened until he died 17 days after hospital admission. Rabies is almost always fatal once symptoms appear but preventable with timely postexposure treatment; human rabies is rare in Canada and the U.S., and this was Ontario’s first case since 1967.