(Bloomberg) -- A bat bite caused the first human rabies death since 1978 in Idaho, the state Department of Health and Welfare announced Thursday.
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The bat became caught in the male victim’s clothing in August. “He did not believe he had been bitten or scratched,” a press release said. He was hospitalized in October. It was not until after he took ill that officials determined he encountered the bat in Boise County.
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In 2020, 11% of 159 bats tested were positive for rabies in Idaho. So far in 2021, a total of 14 bats tested positive.
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