Fatal human rabies caused by European bat lyssavirus type 2a infection in Scotland

Abstract

We wish to report the first recorded case of indigenous human rabies caused by a bat bite in the United Kingdom in 100 years. This instructive case report highlights a number of key lessons: first, bites from insectivorous bats indiginous to the United Kingdom can cause rabies in humans; second, rabies immunization is essential for bat-handlers, and postexposure treatment for rabies is essential for patients bitten by bats; third, patients able to give a history who present with acute flaccid paralysis and/or presumptive viral encephalitis should be asked if they have been bitten by bats, irrespective of travel history, or this history should be obtained from family or friends; fourth, antemortem diagnosis of bat rabies (EBLV type 2a infection) in humans is possible using RT-PCR.