An Illinois man has died of rabies. The Illinois Department of Public Health reported on the death on September 2021. It's a shocking incident given that it's the first human case of rabies in the state since 1954.
The month before his death, the man, who was in his 80s, woke to find the bat biting his neck while he'd been sleeping in his own home. The bat was quickly captured and taken for testing. While the man did go to the hospital, he wouldn't accept the standard treatment for rabies.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the diagnosis after testing at its lab, the department said.
In September, the man started experiencing the classic symptoms associated with rabies. He was having neck pain, a headache, numbness in his arms, and difficulty speaking. It's an incredibly sad situation that could have been prevented with proper treatment.
It's unclear why the man didn't want treatment. But others who were in contact with the bat's secretions were given preventative rabies treatment.
Human cases of rabies are extraordinarily rare. There are only about one to three reported a year, but about 60,000 people a year receive post-exposure preventative treatment.
Bat bites can be hard to see, and experts say that if you've been in close proximity to a bat, you should seek treatment.
