美國麻省自從1935年來第一例狂犬病

Man Dies in First Massachusetts Rabies Case Since 1935

[在美國，蝙蝠是傳染狂犬病的主要動物宿主。1980年代，讀到一篇文章說，芝加哥地區的蝙蝠，十分之一帶有狂犬病毒。在台灣，約十年前有一例狂犬病患，是從中國來台灣才不到一個月的女人。她來台前幾個月，在中國被一隻狗咬，這隻狗也咬了其他人，這些人接受了狂犬病疫苗，可是這位女人因為沒錢，沒有注射疫苗，結果她發病死亡。這是台灣數十年來的第一例。]

By Zach Howard

BOSTON (Reuters) Jan 30 - A Massachusetts man has died after being critically ill for about a month with the state's first reported case of human rabies since 1935.

Kevin Galvin, 63, from Barnstable, who health officials suspected was infected by a bite from a little brown myotis bat, died on January 23 at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, according to an official death certificate Reuters obtained from the Health Department.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health announced on December 30 that a Cape Cod man in his 60s, whom it never publicly identified, was diagnosed with the rare and potentially fatal disease and hospitalized in critical condition.

The cause of Galvin's death was rabies encephalitis, and he had been ill for about one month, the document said.

The source of the virus was later confirmed as a type of mouse-eared bat that is one of the most common varieties in North America. Most U.S. cases of human rabies have been linked to exposure to bats.

Galvin was a resident of Marstons Mills, a small village in the city of Barnstable, said neighbor Ed Thew.

"Everybody was kind of shocked," Thew said. "We've all had our run-ins with bats, but I never knew that it was that serious."

In December, a middle-aged woman in South Carolina died after contracting that state's first case of human rabies in half a century.

Early symptoms of rabies in people are similar to those of many other illnesses, including fever, headache and general weakness or discomfort, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Disease in humans often can be prevented by quickly administering vaccine and antibodies if a person knows he or she has been exposed to rabies, officials say.

One to three human rabies cases are reported in the United States each year, mostly due to exposure to rabid bats. About 55,000 people die of rabies every year in other parts of the world, largely due to exposure to rabid dogs, officials say.

Rabies was first found in bats in Massachusetts in 1961.

Reuters Health Information © 2012