The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is reporting the first human case of rabies in Illinois since 1954. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today confirmed the diagnosis after testing at its lab.
In mid-August, a Lake County resident in his 80s awoke to a bat on his neck. The bat was captured and tested positive for rabies. The individual was advised he needed to start postexposure rabies treatment but declined. One month later, the individual began experiencing symptoms consistent with rabies, including neck pain, headache, difficulty controlling his arms, finger numbness, and difficulty speaking. The individual subsequently died. People who had contact with secretions from the individual were assessed and given rabies preventive treatment as needed.
“Rabies has the highest mortality rate of any disease,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “However, there is life-saving treatment for individuals who quickly seek care after being exposed to an animal with rabies. If you think you may have been exposed to rabies, immediately seek medical attention and follow the recommendations of health care providers and public health officials.”
While cases of human rabies in the United States are rare with only 1 to 3 cases reported each year, rabies exposures are still common with an estimated 60,000 Americans receiving the post-exposure vaccination series each year. The rabies virus infects the central nervous system, ultimately causing disease in the brain and death. Without preventive treatment, rabies is typically fatal.
“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. “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 identified species with rabies in Illinois. Wildlife experts did find a bat colony in the home of the individual who died.
People usually know when they have been bitten by a bat, but bats have very small teeth and the bite mark may not be easy to see. If you find yourself in close proximity to a bat and are not sure if you were exposed, (e.g., you wake up and find a bat in your room), do not release the bat as it should be appropriately captured for rabies testing. Call your doctor or local health department to help determine if you could have been exposed to rabies and if you need preventive treatment. Call your local animal care and control to safely remove the bat.
If the bat is available for testing and the results are negative, preventive treatment is not needed. The only way rabies can be confirmed in a bat is through laboratory testing. You cannot tell just by looking at a bat if it has rabies.
So far this year, 30 bats have tested positive for rabies in Illinois. More than 1,000 bats are tested for rabies each year in Illinois due to a possible exposure. Approximately 3% of tested bats are positive for rabies.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 4:29 pm:
So tragic. My goodness.
Believe in science.
- Perrid - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 4:33 pm:
The grate over my dryer’s exhaust vent had slipped like a month ago, which I discovered when I heard something crawling down the tube/vent. It was a tiny little bat, made it all the way into the machine and was clutching onto the lint trap when I pulled it out a little while later. It was barely moving and I was able to get it outside easy, no real threat of exposure, but I wasn’t even thinking about it potentially having rabies. Creepy.
- Science - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 4:35 pm:
There has been no reported person to person theoretically it’s possible but nonetheless…this man made a choice…unfortunately it was tragic and now paid the ultimate consequence.
- NIU Grad - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 4:37 pm:
The most depressing thing I’ve read today…
Imagine waking up to a bat on your neck and thinking “I don’t need medical attention.”
- Wensicia - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 4:38 pm:
If a bat gets in your house, call animal control immediately. Many people will not, trying to get rid of the bat themselves.
- The Captain - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 4:42 pm:
What is the treatment for rabies? I don’t know if this is true or if it’s just something parents told kids to scare them but when I was a kid my mom said you really, really don’t want rabies because if you get it the treatment is like 9 shots you have to take in your abdomen/stomach which are really painful so don’t get rabies. Hopefully now it’s a pill or something.
- Mason Born - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 4:43 pm:
I thought everyone knew Bats were rabies vectors. Bats and Raccoons, if they bite you you see a doctor. Those little buggers are dangerous.
- bkhartbnjo - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 4:51 pm:
A month or two ago we had a dead bat on our driveway. Just in case, I called the Sangamon Co animal control to ask if the bat should be tested. They said, not if there was no contact with people or pets. Having a bat on your neck is contact.
- ChuckIL - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 4:52 pm:
I was treated for potential rabies exposure about 7 years ago after I woke to a bat flying around my bedroom. The treatment included 14 shots of rabies immune globulin in my arms and legs, and and four more shots over several weeks. It wasn’t that big a deal. I didn’t really even feel the shots until around number 10.
- Excitable Boy - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 4:54 pm:
Great, I’m never going to sleep again.
- Hieronymus - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 4:55 pm:
@The Captain:
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/vis/vis-statements/rabies.html
Not in the abdomen. A series (4-5) of shots in the arm, plus one big one (Immune Globulin) into the area immediately around/in the wound/bite area, or around back …
- very old soil - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 4:57 pm:
A friend working for a vet was bitten by a squirrel she had three shots over three weeks and said they were not painful.
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 5:01 pm:
“you get it the treatment is like 9 shots you have to take in your abdomen/stomach”
I think this is an urban legend, passed on the playground.
CDC says 5 shots. The first is at or near the bite site. The next 4 are in arm if an adult or thigh if child.
https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/medical_care/index.html
Per the google key, once symptoms appear, you are a goner. There is no cure for rabies after symptoms appear. The treatment is to prevent symptoms from appearing.
- Dr. Acula - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 5:02 pm:
I hope somebody remembered to put a stake through that bat’s heart…
- Huh? - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 5:03 pm:
Anon at 5:01 was I.
Hieronymus beat me to the CDC.
- Dotnonymous - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 5:05 pm:
A mesh fishing net…for the aerial catch…easy peasy.
- Blue Dog - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 5:09 pm:
Im not sure when it changed, but the rabies treatment in the old days wad quite sn ordeal. But the beauty of our healthcare system , the greatest in the world, has made it a much simpler treatment.
- Nick Name - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 5:12 pm:
=== I think this is an urban legend, passed on the playground.===
That’s how I heard about it, when I was a little kid. I’m glad the reality seems a lot less grueling.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 5:26 pm:
Science y’all.
- JoanP - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 5:32 pm:
= I think this is an urban legend, passed on the playground. =
Nope, not a legend. Back in the day, 13 shots into the stomach muscle were required. Times have changed.
- danray - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 5:36 pm:
Bela Lugosi likes this post…
- Terry Salad - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 5:52 pm:
The man was in his 80’s. Did that factor in his decision not to accept treatment? He may have not wanted to go through all the painful treatment. Close enough to death to take the chance? Not to be morbid, but I’m not surprised. Still unfortunate.
- Grimlock - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 5:56 pm:
I hope he had some rational reason to decline treatment and wasn’t just looking to “own the libs.”
- clec dcn - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 6:02 pm:
According to google or whatever source from years ago I believe I read that only one person in history has survived rabies without the treatment. Those my friends are long odds.
- Six Degrees of Separation - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 7:19 pm:
I was bitten by a raccoon while emptying out my outside trash can. The critter had gotten in there and it was at night, so it ran off after the bite. If you can contain the animal, it can be tested and usually you are off the hook because it’s 99% chance of being negative. But not having that assurance, I took the rabies shots as a precaution as the ER recommended. The most painful shots where right at the wound, the others not so much.
- Frank talks - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 8:25 pm:
Why did he decline?
Could be put to rest pretty simply. If he took the vaccine he’s probably not anti-science but there should be another explanation then. If he didn’t get the vaccine then I’m sure this was him not believing it was real or could kill you?
- TheBatGuy - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 9:37 pm:
Having worked with bats for 31 years (evicting them from structures), I often see an unfortunate “reason” for some to refuse the shots. If the person woke up with a bat in the room and didn’t capture it for testing, their physician will always order the post-exposure rabies treatment (shots). However, when we throw the insurance company into the mix, things go awry. The health insurance companies frequently refuse to cover the cost, claiming there’s no way to know if the person was bitten or scratched. This happens to be the same reason the Doctor orders the treatment. Once the person finds out their insurance will not cover it, they refuse it as the cost can range from 8 to 25 thousand dollars. It’s not a gamble anyone should ever take, but I see it happen way too often.
- Cable Line Beer Gardener - Wednesday, Sep 29, 21 @ 9:30 am:
I don’t know if this is true but People Magazine is reporting that the victim had a bat colony in the house, which was found by Animal Control.