Boy, 6, dies from rabies after touching 'sick bat'
A little boy has died after being diagnosed with rabies from a bat scratch.
Henry Roque, from Florida in the US, found the sick bat and put it in a bucket, telling his six-year-old son Ryker not to touch it.
But Ryker said he was scratched by the animal and a week later complained of numb fingers and a headache.
"So, apparently he put his hand in there and touched it and he said it only scratched him, so I frantically googled it real quick and it says to wash his hands with soap, hot water for five minutes," Mr Roque told the NBC.
When his condition deteriorated over the next week the boy was rushed to the hospital and placed into a medically induced coma, NBC reported.
He underwent experimental treatment called the Milwaukee Protocol that has only cured two patients in the US and 18 worldwide.
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But the treatment did not work and Ryker tragically died on Sunday.
The family started a GoFundMe page to raise money for the little boy's medical bills and said Mr Roque had lost his job.
"His father was his number one buddy. Ryker was bitten by a bat and contracted the rabies virus. Two weeks later we rushed him to the hospital with spasms and he couldn't walk," the page read.
"We fought, Ryker fought very hard, he is our soldier. We lost our fight today, January 14, 2018.
"We have to lay our angel to rest now. Ryker's father lost his job during all this."
A person can survive rabies if they immediately receive a vaccine, but Ryker did not go to hospital until a week after the scratch.
