Family in Rehovot Receives Rabies Vaccination After Bat Exposure at Home

A family of five in Rehovot, including parents and three children aged 6, 8, and 11, sought medical care at Schneider Children's Medical Center after a bat entered their home overnight. The family discovered bat droppings throughout the house in the morning, prompting health officials to recommend immediate preventive treatment against rabies. According to Dr. Ron Brent, head of the emergency department at Schneider, the family received both active and passive rabies vaccinations at the hospital and will continue a series of four additional vaccine doses over the coming weeks through the health ministry.

The treatment follows Ministry of Health guidelines that anyone who wakes up having shared a room with a bat must undergo preventive care, even if no visible bite or scratch is present. Dr. Brent explained that bats can cause very small injuries that might go unnoticed but still transmit rabies. This case comes shortly after a fatal rabies infection in an 11-year-old Canadian boy who was exposed to a bat in 2024 and died despite treatment, underscoring the critical importance of immediate preventive vaccination.

Rabies is a deadly viral disease affecting animals and humans, with no cure once symptoms appear. In Israel, over 70 suspected rabies exposure incidents have been reported this year, involving dozens of people receiving preventive treatment. These include cases of infected animals traveling between cities and attacks by wild animals such as jackals. A 77-year-old man from northern Israel recently died from rabies. The Ministry of Health stresses that anyone exposed to bats or waking up in a room with a bat must promptly contact health authorities for evaluation and possible vaccination to prevent this fatal disease.