FL - Six year old boy dies of rabies from infected bat

[Anti Federalist]

Any contact with a wild mammal that breaks the skin, and you should seek rabies treatment right away.

Once symptoms start, it is too late, and for all intents and purposes, 100 percent fatal.


Eustis boy reportedly dies at Orlando hospital after contracting rabies

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/...115-story.html

A 6-year-old boy in Lake County has died of rabies after being scratched by a bat, school officials in Eustis confirmed.

A 6-year-old Eustis boy reportedly died of rabies Sunday at an Orlando hospital after being scratched by a sick bat that Lake County officials said had been living in his home.

Henry Roque confirmed his son Ryker Roque’s death to NBC News after previously telling the “Today” show that Ryker became infected when the bat scratched him.

Lake County deputies responded to the Eustis home about two weeks ago after they were told the family’s pit bull may have had rabies. When they arrived, somebody told them the residents were at the hospital with their son, who had been scratched by a bat, sheriff’s Maj. Chris Delibro said.

“We’re told the bat had been in the house for a week or two prior to the boy going to the hospital,” Delibro said.

During that time, authorities said the bat may have come in contact with the dog.

Deputies didn’t see the bat, but they took the pit bull and a cat to the Sheriff’s Office’s animal shelter for testing. Delibro did not know the results of the tests.

Henry Roque said in an interview with the “Today” show that he found the sick bat and put it in a bucket. He told Ryker not to touch it, but Ryker did and was scratched, the father told the show.

After the scratch, Henry Roque said in the interview, he washed the wound but didn’t take Ryker to the hospital because the boy cried when he was told he would need shots.

About a week later, the 6-year-old complained of a headache and numbness in his fingers.

Then the family took him to the hospital, but reportedly it was too late for him to receive shots.

“That’s my buddy, he’s my boy, he’s my everything,” Henry Roque said in the “Today” interview. “He tells all his friends ‘My daddy will fix anything.’ I can’t fix that. I’ve never loved anything or anybody so much in my life. Ever.”

Attempts by the Orlando Sentinel to reach the family weren’t successful, but a GoFundMe page raising money for medical expenses said Monday, “We are so sad to say that Ryker lost his fight last night...our little baby is now an angel.”

Rabies deaths in the United States are rare, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Between 2008 and 2017, only 23 cases have been reported, and the number of deaths blamed on the disease has declined since the 1970s, according to the agency.

Most rabies hosts are wild carnivores and bats.

Orange County Health Department spokesman Kent Donahue said people should avoid touching wildlife.

“If you believe you may have been exposed to rabies, contact your health care provider and your county health department immediately,” Donahue said in an email. “If an exposure occurred, it is important to administer treatment right away.”

[Brian4Liberty]

Henry Roque said in an interview with the “Today” show that he found the sick bat and put it in a bucket. He told Ryker not to touch it, but Ryker did and was scratched, the father told the show.

Sad. Fatal mistake.

[angelatc]

Sad. Fatal mistake.

A whole series of mistakes - a perfect storm. Those poor people .... the hostility they're going to face.

[Swordsmyth]

After the scratch, Henry Roque said in the interview, he washed the wound but didn’t take Ryker to the hospital because the boy cried when he was told he would need shots.

Letting a six year-old control you is bad parenting, this time it was deadly.
I feel nothing but pity for these poor people and the dead child but this is a perfect example of what is wrong with modern parenting.