article Kevin Baker, a rabies biologist from the Nationwide Rabies Control Program of USDA, APHIS, Flora and fauna Products and services of Tennessee and Kentucky, attracts a dose of the rabies vaccine right into a syringe in Omaha, Neb., on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. (Photograph via Rebecca S FRESNO, Calif. – A California resident has died after being bitten via a suspected rabid bat, state well being officers stated. The sufferer, from Fresno County, died past due ultimate week after experiencing signs of rabies, in keeping with the California Division of Public Well being. Officers stated sufferer was once bitten via a bat in Merced County a month ahead of his dying. He was once hospitalized in mid-November in Fresno County, the place state and native well being officers, together with the Facilities for Illness Keep an eye on and Prevention, investigated rabies because the imaginable reason for his sickness. Samples taken from the affected person showed rabies strains. Whilst well being officers famous that deaths from rabies within the U.S. are uncommon, with fewer than 10 instances reported a 12 months, they really useful precautions. “Bites from bats can also be extremely small and hard to look or to discover. It is very important wash your fingers and search for any open wounds after touching a wild animal, and to hunt instant hospital treatment if bitten,” stated CDPH Director Dr. Tomás J. Aragón. “It’s all the time most secure to depart wild animals on my own. Don’t method, contact, or attempt to feed any animals that you do not know.”
