An 11-year-old Canadian boy died from rabies after waking to find a bat covering his nose and mouth while staying at a family cottage in northern Ontario, in a heartbreaking case that has prompted fresh warnings from health experts about the dangers of any direct contact with bats.
Because the child had no visible bite marks and the bat did not appear to be behaving unusually, his family did not seek immediate medical attention. Weeks later, he developed neurological symptoms that rapidly worsened before doctors confirmed he had contracted rabies.
