Ontario resident treated after suspected bite from rabid bat

Celeste Percy-Beauregard
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A rabid bat found in Brantford may have bitten a person, Brant County Health Unit reported in a press release on Wednesday.

The person who was exposed to the rabid bat is undergoing treatment and isn’t showing any rabies-related symptoms.

The health unit says the positive test was done in a lab and the bat is now dead.

The prophylactic treatment — washing the wound, receiving antibodies and getting a four-dose vaccine — is considered highly effective in preventing humans from developing the fatal virus, as long as it is administered before symptoms show.

It’s the first time this year someone has been exposed to a rabid animal in Brantford-Brant, the release said.

However, earlier in the month, the health unit reported that a local resident was hospitalized with rabies after a suspected bat exposure in the Gowganda area, which is between Sudbury and Timmins in northern Ontario.

It marked the first provincially acquired human case of the virus since 1967.

In August, Hamilton Public Health Services reported its first positive rabid bat in a year. At the time, a Hamilton resident who was exposed to it received treatment.

The release said Hamilton is undergoing “an outbreak” of rabies, with 330 animals testing positive since December 2015.

Last year, 56 animals in the province were recorded as having rabies — six skunks, one cat and 49 bats, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources website.

Of those cases, eight were in Hamilton. None were in Brantford-Brant.

The last confirmed animal case in Brantford-Brant was a bat in 2022. Hamilton confirmed six bat cases and one skunk case that year.

“Although the risk of encountering a rabid animal in our community remains low, it’s important to recognize that rabies is present in Brantford-Brant and throughout Ontario,” said Dr. Rebecca Comley, medical officer of health for the Brant County Health Unit.

To protect yourself, keep pets and livestock vaccinated against rabies, and if you think a pet may have been exposed to rabies, call your veterinarian right away.

Avoid contact with wild or unknown animals — especially if they are acting strangely — and call animal services at 311 if a bat gets in your house.

In the event of a bite or scratch from a wild or domestic animal, always wash the bite with soap and water, and seek immediate medical attention.

Celeste Percy-Beauregard
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Hamilton Spectator