Boy dies from bat bite

A nine-year-old Quebec boy who was hospitalized with rabies last week has died.

The boy's name has not been released.

Doctors say the child likely contracted the virus when he was bitten by a bat on a camping trip with his parents last month.

Health officials say it can take up to 90 days for the rabies virus to incubate before symptoms appear.

The virus can cause acute encephalitis in all warm-blooded hosts, including humans, and the outcome is nearly always fatal.

The first symptoms of rabies in people are fever or headache, which can last for several days.

The symptoms then become more severe, including delirium, insomnia and hallucinations.

Doctors say the boy is probably the first case of rabies in a human being in Quebec in more than 35 years.