Man critical condition with a life-threatening illness after he was bitten by a bat in NSW
NSW Health urged people not to touch bats after a man aged in his 50's contracted Australian bat lyssavirus.
It is the first confirmed case of the virus in NSW, which is closely related to rabies, it affects the central nervous system and is usually fatal.
Only three cases of lyssavirus have been identified in Australia since 1996, all of those cases were in Queensland and all three people died.
NSW Health director in health protection Keira Glasgow said it was a very tragic situation.
'The man had been bitten by a bat several months ago and received treatment following the injury,' she said.
'Further investigation is underway to understand whether other exposures or factors played a role in his illness.
'We know 118 people required medical assessment after being bitten or scratched by bats in 2024, but this is the first confirmed case of the virus in NSW, and the fourth case in Australia.'
Dr Glasgow said it was incredibly rare for the virus to transmit to humans, but once symptoms of lyssavirus started in people who were scratched or bitten by an infected bat there was no effective way to treat the disease.
She urged everyone to assume all Australian bats carried the virus.
'This is why only trained, protected and vaccinated wildlife handlers should interact with bats,' she said.
'If you are bitten or scratched by a bat, urgent medical assessment is crucial.'
Dr Glasgow recommended anyone who was bitten by a bat to immediately wash the wound with soap and water thoroughly for 15 mins and apply an antivirus antiseptic, such as betadine, and allow it to dry.
'You will then require treatment with rabies immunoglobulin and rabies vaccine,' she said.
There is no cure for lyssavirus which has been found in species of flying foxes, fruit bats and insect-eating microbats.
The World Health Organisation estimates more than 55,000 people died from rabies around the world each year.
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Without it, she said the risks of psychological distress among donor-conceived children were extreme. "We need to start listening and hearing from people who are conceived in this way," Ms Kerner said. "It is about the potential impact of having large donor sibling groups. For some donor-conceived people, they can certainly feel like they've been cloned. Emily Fae, a Perth-based donor-conceived person and a co-founder of Donor Conceived Australia, said the government has a "duty" to step in. "I absolutely agree that the online donor space is the wild west," she said, adding that donors can lie about themselves, how many children they have fathered, or conceal serious genetic conditions. "Unregulated donation creates lifelong consequences for the donor-conceived people involved. "We deserve accurate medical history, the right to know our genetic relatives, and safeguards against preventable harm." A federal health department spokeswoman said the three-month review agreed to by the nation's health ministers into the assisted reproductive technology (ART) sector would be led by the Victorian government. The spokeswoman said the government was aware of the concerns raised by ANZICA about semen donors advertising online. "Health ministers will consider the outcomes of the review in the coming months, as a matter of priority," she said.
