This week, a patient exposed to a bat in western Minnesota died from rabies, marking the fifth death from the disease in the state since 1975.
Health officials are investigating the death and have confirmed the patient was exposed to a bat in July, without explicitly stating if it caused the rabies.
The C.D.C. notes that fewer than 10 rabies deaths occur annually in the U.S., with 70 percent linked to bat exposure and previous cases recorded since 1917.
Rabies, if untreated, is nearly always fatal; however, treatment is almost 100% effective if administered before symptoms develop.
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