During the Oct. 2 Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit’s board of health meeting, acting Medical Officer of Health Dr. Malcolm Lock confirmed that a child from the Brantford-Brant region has died after contracting the rabies virus after coming into contact with a bat in the northern Ontario region.
This follows release of a statement from Brant County Health Unit on September 6 that a resident had contracted the virus. No details on the individual were released at that time.
The case was the first domestic human rabies case in Canada since 1967 and the first ever in a Brantford-Brant resident.
Lock says the family woke up with a bat in their room and checked the child for scratches, bites and saliva and found none, so they did not seek getting a rabies vaccine.
He says individuals who come into contact with an animal who can carry the virus, should seek immediate medical attention.
