(Bloomberg) -- A bat bite caused the first human rabies death since 1978 in Idaho, the state Department of Health and Welfare announced Thursday.
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.
In 2020, 11% of 159 bats tested were positive for rabies in Idaho. So far in 2021, a total of 14 bats tested positive.
