An 86-year-old man is receiving treatment for rabies after being bitten by a bat wedged between the back of his tablet and its case.
The citizen of New Hampshire in the US, Roy Syvertson, told WMUR-TV that he had been using the tablet for about an hour before the bat popped its head out and nipped him.
The next morning, Mr Syvertson observed that the bat was still there and alive, but he later discovered that it died later that night.
The pensioner said it felt like a bee sting at first, adding: “I looked, and the bat was coming out of here, between the cover and the back of the pad.”
“And then I got up, still squeezing it, which I’m sure he wasn’t happy about, and I took him outside.”
“Then I knew I might have a problem,” Mr Syvertson said.
He called the New Hampshire Department of Fish and Game to remove his concerns that the the bat might be infected with rabies. He was instructed to go to the hospital to be immediately tested, and it later confirmed that the bat was rabid.
Doctors told Mr Syvertson that he will be fine. However, it remains a mystery how the bat got into his house and into the tablet case.
“It will remain a mystery, and my joke of, ‘He probably knew my password’ won’t last forever. That won’t be funny for a long time,” Mr Syvertson said.
