A bat infected an 11-year-old boy in Canada with rabies through an undetected bite.

In Canada, a bat landed on the face of a sleeping 11-year-old boy and infected him with rabies, although he did not even notice the bite. This was reported in a report from the scientific journal Canadian Medical Association Journal.

A tragic incident occurred in the summer of 2024 in Northern Ontario: a boy woke up with a bat sitting on his face, covering his nose and mouth. Frightened, he brushed the animal off his face, and the father later caught the mouse and released it into the street. Since there was no blood or bite marks on the child's skin, the family did not seek medical help. However, after 19 days, the child began to experience tingling and numbness on one side of his face and began to vomit violently.

Doctors were not immediately able to make the correct diagnosis, as the family insisted on no contact with the animal. When rabies was confirmed, the fatal disease had already affected the child’s nervous system. Despite intensive therapy for two weeks, he could not be saved.

This is the first case of rabies in Ontario since 1967. Dr. Brian Hummel, a pediatric infectious disease specialist involved in the treatment, cautioned that bat bites are often microscopic and leave no visible marks, so even the slightest skin contact, especially on the face, requires immediate prevention.