HORRIFYING

Man Who Woke Up With Bat on His Neck Dies of Rabies

The 80-something Illinois man declined treatment for rabies despite his doctors’ pleas.

A man in Illinois woke up in mid-August to a strange bedfellow: A bat was on his neck. He died of rabies a month later. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, the man, an 80-something whose name has not been released, declined treatment for rabies despite his doctors’ pleas. The animal was captured not long after he encountered it and tested positive for the disease. After several weeks, he began experiencing classic rabies symptoms. His neck and head hurt, he had trouble speaking and controlling his arms, and his fingers went numb. After a month, he was dead. He was the first person to die of the disease in the state since 1954.