The first fatal case of rabies in Ontario, Canada, in over 50 years has raised concerns about the risk of rabies transmission through animal bites and scratches.
Experts hope that a new report on the case will provide critical guidance to help prevent future rabies deaths. Rabies in humans is almost always fatal, but prompt administration of a series of rabies vaccines and human rabies immune globulin injections can prevent death.
Bats are the most common carriers of rabies in North America, and their bites or scratches can often be small and difficult to see. This poses a particularly heightened risk, as direct human contact with a bat, even in the absence of a visible bite or scratch, is an indication for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) and should be discussed with public health authorities.
According to report co-author Dr. Brian Hummel, people who may have been in contact with a wild animal that could potentially have rabies should seek medical attention promptly. Bats may or may not show classic signs of rabies, making any direct human contact with a bat considered high risk.
Symptoms of rabies can take three to 12 weeks to appear, but can also appear after a few days or several months or years. They include numbness or tingling where you were bitten or scratched, seeing things that are not there, feeling very anxious or energetic, difficulty swallowing or breathing, and being unable to move.
Rabies is almost always fatal once symptoms appear, making prevention crucial. Dr. Hummel emphasizes that rabies PEP is highly effective if administered promptly, in consultation with public health authorities, after any direct human contact with a bat, even in the absence of visible lesions.
There have been 27 confirmed cases of human rabies in the UK since 1924, with all but one contracted abroad. The only recent case where rabies was contracted in the UK was in 2002, when a licensed bat handler in Scotland died from a rabies-like virus.
