Canadian boy, 11, died from rabies after waking up with bat on his mouth

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Canadian boy, 11, died from rabies after waking up with bat on his mouth

By Amarachi Orie
Updated 12 hr ago
Updated Jul 1, 2026, 11:08 AM ET
PUBLISHED Jul 1, 2026, 10:44 AM ET


A little brown bat, or Myotis lucifugus, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada (Marek Stefunko/iStockphoto/Getty Images)

An 11-year-old Canadian boy has died from rabies after waking up with a bat on his nose and mouth. ... The episode occurred during a visit to a cottage in northern Ontario in 2024, according to a report published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal on Monday.

Woken by the shock, the boy, who wasn’t named in the report, smacked the bat off his face. His father then caught it in a cooking pot and released it outside, doctors from the Department of Pediatrics and Child Health at the University of Manitoba, Canada said in the report.

Since the child had no visible bite marks and the bat’s behavior did not seem erratic, the boy’s parents did not seek medical attention. ... However, 19 days later, the boy began to experience a progressive tingling sensation and numbness on the right side of his face, followed by facial swelling and a loss of appetite.

Four days after the symptoms began, a local urgent care clinic prescribed him medication used to treat herpes, as it was presumed he had symptoms of Bell’s palsy caused by the herpes virus. ... Three days later, he was brought to a city hospital emergency department in Ontario with painful swallowing and vomiting.

A physical exam found ulcers in his gums and a mild impairment in a nerve on the right side of the face that provides sensation and controls chewing. ... The boy’s family told the doctors about the incident with the bat and, the next day, the emergency doctor notified the local public health authority. ... However, the hospital discharged the child on a presumed diagnosis of herpes gingivostomatitis, which is sores in the lips or mouth caused by herpes.

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