Florida Boy Bitten By Bat Being Treated; 7,000 Cases Of Rabies Nationwide Annually

November 19, 2008 11:03 a.m. EST

Lake Wales, FL (AHN) - A Florida boy was bitten on the finger by a rabid bat while trying to get his dog away from the animal.

The 12-year-old Lake Wales boy is receiving a series of shots to protect him from developing the fatal disease after the bat tested positive for rabies. Although human deaths from rabies are rare in the United States, many wild animals carry the disease, which can be transmitted to family pets and then to their human owners.

Worldwide, about 50,000 people die from rabies every year, with most of those deaths occurring in developing nations where they don't have rabies vaccination programs for dogs.

The bat was the sixth positive rabies case in Polk County this year. Nationally, there are about 7,000 cases of rabies every year, according to the CDC.

In the U.S. rabies is usually passed along through a bite by an infected wild animal such as a bat, raccoon, skunk, wolf, coyote, bobcat, ferret or fox, but about three quarters of rabies cases are from bats, CDC officials say.

If left untreated, a bite from a wild animal infected with rabies can result in death.

Parents are advised to seek medical care and advice in any instance where their child is bitten by a wild animal.