Elderly Man Catches Bat with Bare Hands, Ends Up in ICU with Hantavirus Infection and Severe Kidney Damage
Recently, a distressing incident occurred in Chaohu, Anhui Province. An elderly man, attempting to protect his frightened wife, bravely caught a bat that had entered their home, unaware that this good deed would nearly cost him his life.
The elderly man put on gloves, brought a ladder, and after some maneuvering, successfully caught the bat with his bare hands and released it into the wild.
He thought it was just a minor scare, but days later, his body began to exhibit serious abnormalities.
He first suddenly developed a high fever, then felt weakness in his legs, walked unsteadily, and even experienced severe symptoms of being unable to urinate.
Seeing the urgency of the situation, his family immediately sent him to the hospital emergency room. Due to the rapid progression of the illness, he was directly transferred to the intensive care unit for rescue upon admission.
After diagnosis by specialist doctors, the elderly man was finally confirmed to have Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome.
This is a serious disease caused by hantavirus infection, clinically characterized by fever, bleeding, and kidney damage, and is often accompanied by the typical "three redness" symptoms of facial flushing, neck redness, and chest redness at the onset of the disease.
This virus causes great damage to kidney function, and if treated untimely, it can easily endanger life.
Doctors remind that bats and rodents often carry a variety of pathogens, and even wearing gloves, infection can occur during capture through excrement, droplets, or minor wounds.