{"id":1961,"date":"2025-07-03T17:45:21","date_gmt":"2025-07-03T17:45:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/australian-man-dies-from-extremely-rare-bat-bite-virus\/"},"modified":"2025-07-03T17:45:21","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T17:45:21","slug":"australian-man-dies-from-extremely-rare-bat-bite-virus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/australian-man-dies-from-extremely-rare-bat-bite-virus\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian man dies from ‘extremely rare’ bat bite virus"},"content":{"rendered":"
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An Australian man has died from an “extremely rare” rabies-like infection transmitted by a bat bite, health officials said Thursday.<\/p>\n

The man in his 50s was bitten by a bat carrying Australian bat lyssavirus several months ago, the health service in New South Wales said.<\/p>\n

“We express our sincere condolences to the man’s family and friends for their tragic loss,” NSW Health said in a statement. “While it is extremely rare to see a case of Australian bat lyssavirus, there is no effective treatment for it.”<\/p>\n

The man from northern New South Wales, who has not been identified, was this week listed as being in a “critical condition” in hospital.<\/p>\n

Officials said he was treated following the bite and they were investigating to see whether other exposures or factors played a role in his illness.<\/p>\n

The virus — a close relative to rabies, which does not exist in Australia — is transmitted when bat saliva enters the human body through a bite or scratch.<\/p>\n

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First symptoms can take days or years to appear.<\/p>\n

Early signs of the disease are flu-like — a headache, fever and fatigue, the health service said.<\/p>\n

The victim’s condition rapidly deteriorates, leading to paralysis, delirium, convulsions and death.<\/p>\n

There were only three previous cases of human infection by Australian bat lyssavirus since it was first identified in 1996 — all of them fatal.<\/p>\n

People should avoid touching or handling bats, as any bat in Australia could carry lyssavirus, the New South Wales health service said.<\/p>\n

Only wildlife handlers who are trained, protected, and vaccinated should interact with the flying mammals, it warned.<\/p>\n

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“If you or someone you know is bitten or scratched by a bat, you need to wash the wound thoroughly for 15 minutes right away with soap and water and apply an antiseptic with anti-virus action,” it said.<\/p>\n

“Patients then require treatment with rabies immunoglobulin and rabies vaccine.”<\/p>\n

The virus has been found in species of flying foxes and insect-eating microbats, NSW Health said.<\/p>\n

The type of bat involved in the latest fatality has not been identified.<\/p>\n

Australian bat lyssavirus was first identified in May 1996 by scientists at the national science agency CSIRO, who examined brain tissue from a flying fox that had been showing “nervous signs” in New South Wales.<\/p>\n

Later that year, a bat handler in Queensland became ill.<\/p>\n

“The initial numbness and weakness suffered in her arm progressed to coma and death,” the science agency said in an online document on the virus.<\/p>\n

“Two further cases in Queensland — a woman in 1998 and an eight year old boy in 2013 — resulted in death after being bitten or scratched by a bat,” it said.<\/p>\n

There are subtle differences between the lysssavirus in flying foxes and insectivorous bats, the science agency has found.<\/p>\n

Infected bats can transmit the virus to people, other bats and other mammals.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t© 2025 AFP<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

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Australian man dies from ‘extremely rare’ bat bite virus<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An Australian man has died from an “extremely rare” rabies-like infection transmitted by a bat bite, health officials said Thursday. The man in his 50s was bitten by a bat carrying Australian bat lyssavirus several months ago, the health service in New South Wales said. “We express our sincere condolences to the man’s family and…<\/p>\n

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