# A Man Died From Rabies In Illinois. Here's Why That's So Unusual In The U.S.



## Leeda.the.Paladin (Sep 29, 2021)

A Man Died From Rabies In Illinois. Here's Why That's So Unusual In The U.S.​
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September 29, 202111:26 AM ET
DEEPA SHIVARAM
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Be aware if you've got bats in your home. That's the message from the Illinois Department of Health as it announced that an *80-year-old man died of rabies after waking up to find a bat on his neck.* It is the first human case of rabies in the state since 1954.

The *man refused rabies treatment at the time of the incident *in mid-August, health officials said in a press release. A month later, he started experiencing rabies symptoms such as neck pain, headache, difficulty controlling his arms, finger numbness and difficulty speaking. 



SHOTS - HEALTH NEWS ​Bats In The Bedroom Can Spread Rabies Without An Obvious Bite​Rabies infections in humans are extremely rare in the United States, since the disease is preventable and treatable. Typically one to three cases are reported each year, and there were no cases reported in 2019, according to the most recent data available from the CDC. 
But rabies exposure is far more common; 60,000 Americans receive the post-exposure treatment every year. Without prompt treatment, though, the virus infects the nervous system and is typically fatal.




SHOTS - HEALTH NEWS ​The U.S. Bans Importing Dogs From 113 Countries After Rise In False Rabies Records​Lake County Health Department Executive Director Mark Pfister said the case of the man who died this week emphasizes the need for more public health awareness of the risks of rabies.

"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," Pfister said.
Illinois health officials say bats are the most common animal found with rabies in the state. The man who died had a colony of bats living in his home.


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## Crackers Phinn (Sep 29, 2021)

"announced that an 80-year-old man died of rabies *after waking up to find a bat on his neck.* "





If you wake up with anything with fangs on your body you supposed to take it to the hospital with you to be tested for rabies.   At the very least, if there was no rabies I would have assumed I was going to turn into a vampire.


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## snoop (Oct 14, 2021)

Crackers Phinn said:


> "announced that an 80-year-old man died of rabies after waking up to find a bat on his neck. "
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Re: the bolded

The only people who are going to do this are the ones who like to walk TOWARD the sound in a haunted house...


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## naturalgyrl5199 (Oct 14, 2021)

Leeda.the.Paladin said:


> A Man Died From Rabies In Illinois. Here's Why That's So Unusual In The U.S.​
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> ...


We have bats in North Florida. FAMU students used to have them in their dorms.

That being said, I've been in Public Health long enough to remember thousands of dollars being spent on campaigns encouraging people to report bites such as what's described or the presence of bats.

We actually had 4 incidences of bats in MY BUILDING in a 9 month period. We are a 1-story building....I was working from home daily back then. The last one was in June. We are not even a mountainous region. Just hilly, lots of trees and plenty of bats. And he was too darn old not to know better.


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## sunshinebeautiful (Oct 14, 2021)

naturalgyrl5199 said:


> We have bats in North Florida. *FAMU students used to have them in their dorms.*
> 
> That being said, I've been in Public Health long enough to remember thousands of dollars being spent on campaigns encouraging people to report bites such as what's described or the presence of bats.
> 
> We actually had 4 incidences of bats in MY BUILDING in a 9 month period. We are a 1-story building....I was working from home daily back then. The last one was in June. We are not even a mountainous region. Just hilly, lots of trees and plenty of bats. And he was too darn old not to know better.



I remember being in the dorm at FAMU when one of them bats got loose. It was flying around everywhere and everyone was screaming and running. I had totally forgotten about this


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