A man in his 80s who woke up with a bat on his neck died after getting rabies.
The Illinois Department of Public Health on Tuesday reported that a man had died from rabies.
It is also the first human case of the disease in the state since 1954.
The department announced that a man in his 80s from the Lake County, Illinois had died on Tuesday, just over a month after he said he woke up one day in mid-August to find a bat clinging to his neck.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the diagnosis after testing at its lab and said that the man had started experiencing symptoms associated with rabies, which includes neck pain, a headache, could not control his limbs, had slurred speech and had numbness in his extremities.
Rabies has one of the highest mortality rates of any disease.
Anyone who exhibits symptoms will probably die within weeks.
There is a vaccine for rabies and there are some treatment options that can prevent death, however, treatment needs to be administered right away after a victim was exposed to the disease.
Once a victim begins to exhibit symptoms, its too late to save them.,
Healthcare workers and others who had contact with secretions from the man were assessed and given rabies preventative treatment as needed.
Dr. Ngozi Ezike, the Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, said:
If you think you may have been exposed to rabies, immediately seek medical attention and follow the recommendations of health care providers and public health officials.
Human cases of rabies are rare in the USA.
Around one to three cases are reported nationwide each year.
