Latest news with #lyssavirus
News.com.au
16-07-2025
- Health
- News.com.au
Ballina man Craig Nolte remembered after dying from lyssavirus
A devastated NSW community is mourning the death of a beloved local carpenter who died from lyssavirus after being bitten by a bat, despite receiving treatment. Craig Nolte, aged in his 50s, died on July 3 after what his wife described as a 'very quick case of lyssavirus'. Mr Nolte is the first confirmed case of the rare infection in NSW. Typically transmitted through bites or scratches from infected bats, lyssavirus is closely related to rabies. Mr Nolte's wife, Robyn, shared the news on social media, paying tribute to her 'best friend'. 'I said goodbye to Craig on the 3rd of July to a very quick case of lyssavirus,' she said. 'RIP my love, my best friend.' She said Mr Nolte, affectionately known as 'Zebbo', was a familiar face in the community after operating Ballina Kiddi Care for 18 years. 'I need to put this out to the community,' she said. 'We knew a lot of families.' Ms Nolte said her husband had been bitten by a bat eight months before his death and had received the full post-exposure prophylaxis treatment. 'Eight months ago Craig got bitten and he got the post exposure prophylaxis injections,' she said. 'NSW Health still grappling in their words to how this happened that the injection didn't work.' NSW Health issued a statement expressing 'sincere condolences to the man's family and friends for their tragic loss' and confirmed his case was being 'looked at by experts'. 'The man had been bitten by a bat several months ago and received treatment following the injury,' a NSW health spokesperson said. 'An investigation is underway to understand factors which may have played a role in his illness. 'Post-exposure prophylaxis for lyssavirus exposure includes both immunoglobulin and at least four vaccines given over several weeks. 'The treatment is very safe and has been proven worldwide to be highly effective.' While cases of the virus are extremely rare, health authorities acknowledged that there have been occasional reports of breakthrough infections worldwide. 'These are thoroughly investigated to determine the contributing factors. This recent case in NSW is being looked at by experts.'
Daily Mail
16-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Aussie father-of-two who DIED after catching a horrific virus when he was bitten by a bat is identified - as horror new details emerge
A father-of-two who died after being bitten by a bat has been identified, with his grieving wife claiming health authorities are still 'grappling' with how medical treatment failed to save his life. Craig Nolte, 56, tried to free the bat - which had flown into the verandah of his Ballina home and gotten trapped - when he was bitten in October last year. The carpenter by trade contracted the Australian bat lyssavirus (ABLV) from the bite, which marked the first case of the virus in NSW. His wife Robyn, who operates a childcare centre in Ballina, confirmed he received a prophylaxis immunoglobulin injection after he was bitten by the animal. 'NSW Health [is] still grappling in their words [about] how this happened that the injection didn't work,' she wrote in a post to social media on Wednesday. 'RIP my love my best friend.' NSW Health confirmed he received initial treatment but later developed symptoms and fell into a critical condition. On Wednesday, it offered its 'sincere condolences' to friends and family and said an investigation was underway into the circumstances surrounding his illness. 'Post-exposure prophylaxis for lyssavirus exposure includes both immunoglobulin and at least four vaccines given over several weeks,' it said. 'The treatment is very safe and has been proven worldwide to be highly effective.' More to come.
ABC News
03-07-2025
- Health
- ABC News
What is lyssavirus? Rare bat disease claims a fourth life in Australia
The rare but deadly lyssavirus has now claimed four lives in Australia. New South Wales Health confirmed a man aged in his 50s from the state's north died from the virus on Thursday after being bitten by a bat several months ago. It was the first known case in NSW. Here's what we know about the disease. Lyssavirus is a rabies-like infection transmitted via a bite or scratch from an infected bat to humans and other mammals, such as dogs and cats, or by exposure to an infected animal's saliva through the eyes, nose or mouth. NSW Health says lyssavirus affects the central nervous system and can take anywhere from weeks to years to present. The early symptoms are flu-like and include headache, fever and fatigue. The illness progresses rapidly to paralysis, delirium and convulsions. Death usually follows within a fortnight. Australian bat lyssavirus (ABLV) has been found in species of flying foxes, fruit bats and insect-eating microbats, and has been detected in NSW, the Northern Territory, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia. The CSIRO first identified the Australian bat lyssavirus in 1996 after a black flying fox was found displaying nervous symptoms near Ballina in northern NSW. Later that year a Queensland woman who had recently become a bat handler started to suffer numbness and weakness in her arm before falling into a coma and dying. In 1998 and 2013, respectively, a woman and an eight-year-old died after they were bitten or scratched by bats. University of Sydney veterinary scientist Alison Peel said bats had coevolved with lyssavirus over a number of years. "We know that a large number of bats have been exposed to the virus but not gone on to have clinical signs that they ultimately die of," she said. "It's a small proportion of bats that go on to develop those clinical signs, whereas in people and other animals it ultimately causes those clinical signs. Dr Peel said it was yet to be understood why some bats were resistant to the disease and that infected bats often exhibited erratic and aggressive behaviour. Trish Paterson, who ran the Australian Bat Clinic and Wildlife Trauma Centre in Queensland, said less than 0.1 per cent of the Australian bat population was infected with lyssavirus. "They catch it from a bite or a scratch from an infected bat, so the bats die from it exactly the same away we do, and it's nasty, very painful, and can take three to four weeks for an animal to die once they've contracted lyssavirus," she said. Ms Paterson said being fully vaccinated against rabies was crucial for anyone who handled bats and that it was worrying that another person had died from an infection despite receiving prompt medical attention. "If he received treatment and still contracted the virus, that would be a little bit concerning," she said. There is no cure for lyssavirus but there are measures that can limit the likelihood of a person developing the disease, including the rabies vaccine. "ABLV is closely enough related to rabies that all of the preventative measures developed around the world for rabies, including vaccines and post-exposure treatment, work against ABLV," Dr Peel said. She said the vaccinations were vital for anyone coming into contact with bats, including carers, veterinarians and wildlife officers. Dr Peel said anyone bitten or scratched by a bat should immediately wash the wound thoroughly for 15 minutes with soap and water and apply an antiviral antiseptic before allowing the affected area to dry. Post-exposure treatment involves getting a course of the rabies vaccine and potentially a dose of antibodies. "You're giving your immune system a head start rather than waiting for it to develop those antibodies," Dr Peel said. Dr Peel said it was rare for post-exposure treatment to fail. There is no cure once the disease is detected in the body. People are advised to avoid contact with bats and call WIRES on 1300 094 737 if they find a bat in distress, injured or trapped on the ground.
Telegraph
03-07-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
Australian man dies from ‘extremely rare' virus after bat bite
A man has died from an incurable and 'extremely rare' rabies-like virus that he caught after being bitten by a bat. The man, who is believed to be in his 50s, was bitten several months ago and infected with Australian bat lyssavirus – a pathogen closely related to rabies. It is the first confirmed case of the virus in a person in New South Wales, and only the fourth human infection since lyssavirus was first identified in Australia in 1996. While ABLV is unique to Australia, in June an injured bat rescued from a garden in the Isle of Wight tested positive for European Bat Lyssavirus. There are two strains of this pathogen and, according to the Bat Conservation Trust, just 59 of 19,000 bats tested since 1986 have been infected in the UK. Two people have been infected in Britain since records began – once in 1902, and again 100 years later in a bat handler in Scotland. 'It is incredibly rare for the virus to transmit to humans,' Keira Glasgow, a director in health protection at New South Wales Health, said on Wednesday. 'But once symptoms of lyssavirus start in people who are scratched or bitten by an infected bat, sadly there is no effective treatment.' Symptoms of lyssavirus can take days, months or even years to emerge. Much like rabies, early signs of the disease are flu-like – including a headache, fever and fatigue. Patients can deteriorate rapidly, with paralysis, delirium, convulsions, and ultimately death. 'Rabies, the disease, is an extremely similar disease of the central nervous system to that which can develop after ABLV [Australia bat lyssavirus] infection, although the two viruses are genetically distinct,' said Dr Ian Mackay, a virologist at the University of Queensland. 'ABLV is a rare passenger of bats but when it is present, it is more often the cause of symptoms in those bats. Once symptoms develop in an infected human, disease is often fatal as there is no cure,' he told The Telegraph However, like rabies, immediate treatment post-exposure can stop symptoms from ever developing – and because the viruses are so similar, rabies immunoglobin and rabies vaccines are used to treat lyssavirus infections. However Trish Paterson, a wildlife carer for more than 30 years who ran the Australian Bat Clinic and Wildlife Trauma Centre in Queensland, told ABC News that it was worrying that the man had reportedly sought treatment – though it is not clear how quickly. 'If he received treatment [directly after the bite] and still contracted the virus, that would be a little bit concerning,' she said. In Australia, 118 people required medical assessment after they were bitten or scratched by bats last year. Public health officials this week urged anyone who came into contact with a bat to seek immediate treatment. But it is currently not clear how widespread the virus is within the country's bat population. According to figures from Wildlife Health Australia as of June 2024, 420 sick bats have tested positive with lyssavirus since 2001, including 97 in New South Wales. The disease affects a variety of bats and prevalence in wild populations is not clear – although studies in the early 2000s suggested it was less than 1 per cent, Wildlife Health Australia said. 'We don't know much about ABLV dynamics in bats,' Dr Alison Peel, a veterinarian and wildlife disease ecologist at the University of Sydney, wrote on the social media site BlueSky. 'But the risk to people is higher when contact is more likely – [for example] during food shortages for flying foxes, when they are more likely to search for food in backyards, or extreme heat events, when bats suffer and die in large numbers and people try to help. 'So, it's important to ensure that we protect bat habitats and allow space for them to play their important natural roles in ecosystems, without forcing them to come into contact with humans,' she said.
ABC News
02-07-2025
- Health
- ABC News
NSW man in hospital with state's first confirmed case of Australian bat lyssavirus
A northern New South Wales man is in a critical condition after contracting the state's first confirmed case of Australian bat lyssavirus. Keira Glasgow of NSW Health said the man, aged in his 50s, received treatment after being bitten by a bat several months ago. "Unfortunately he's recently developed symptoms of lyssavirus … which is incredibly rare," she said. Ms Glasgow said there was "no effective treatment" for the illness and that an investigation was underway to establish whether other exposures or factors contributed to the man's infection. It is the fourth case recorded in Australia. Ms Glasgow said lyssavirus was a "rabies-like infection" transmitted from infected bats to humans via a bite or scratch. The virus affects the central nervous system and is often fatal. "This is a tragic situation," she said. NSW Health is reminding the community to avoid touching or handling bats. "There are people who are trained and fully vaccinated and protected who are able to handle bats," Ms Glasgow said. "The best thing you can do is to call your local wildlife carers agency to help you." She said anyone exposed to a bat bite or scratch should seek urgent medical attention. "You should wash the wound thoroughly for 15 minutes right away with soap and water and apply an antiseptic such as Betadine," Ms Glasgow said. "You will then require treatment with rabies immunoglobulin and rabies vaccine."
