Rabies
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https://gizmodo.com/illinois-man-turns-down-treatment-after-bat-bite-dies-1847767191
On Tuesday, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported one of these rare encounters. In mid-August, a Lake County resident in his 80s woke up with a bat at his neck. The bat was captured, and an entire colony was later discovered to be living in his home. Once the bat was known to have rabies, the man was advised to seek post-exposure treatment. But for whatever reason, he declined. A month later, he began developing symptoms including neck pain, headache, finger numbness, and difficulty speaking; soon after, he died. Those who may have come into close contact with the man’s bodily fluids were also assessed and chose to undergo preventive treatment, officials said. It’s the first human rabies case reported in Illinois since 1954.
“Sadly, this case underscores the importance of raising public awareness about the risk of rabies exposure in the United States,” said Lake County Health Department Executive Director Mark Pfister in a statement. “Rabies infections in people are rare in the United States; however, once symptoms begin, rabies is almost always fatal, making it vital that an exposed person receive appropriate treatment to prevent the onset of rabies as soon as possible.”
Bats are the most commonly reported source of exposure to rabies in the U.S., accounting for 70% of human rabies deaths, the CDC says. And they may have been the original hosts of the ancestor virus that gave rise to rabies and other related viruses. But many animals are capable of spreading rabies to humans, and most bats don’t carry rabies, nor can you tell if a bat has rabies just by looking at it.
That’s why it’s important for anyone who has gotten bitten or scratched by an animal to be aware of their potential risk of rabies, especially if the animal was wild or not known to have been vaccinated against rabies, in the case of free-roaming pets. Ideally, the bitey animal can be captured and tested for rabies, but if not, doctors may still recommend post-exposure prophylaxis, depending on the circumstances. Though rabies infections in the U.S. are rare, about 55,000 Americans do get post-exposure treatment annually, according to the CDC.
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“and an entire colony was later discovered to be living in his home. “
Now what does that mean, like hidden in a deserted attic, or actually hanging from the ceiling in his home?
I mean maybe Batman didn’t really have a firm grip on reality from the onset?
