Washington Man Died From Rabies, Autopsy Shows

A man’s death last month was determined Friday to be from rabies, making him the second person to die of the disease in Washington state since 1939, officials said.

The 65-year-old Shelton man, whose name was withheld, became ill in late December and was transferred to University Hospital in Seattle, where he died in mid-January, state health officials said in a news release.

The man’s wife and a small number of medical personnel who had close contact with him will receive rabies vaccine as a precaution, the release said.

To try to pinpoint the source of infection, more laboratory tests were being done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and relatives were being interviewed and the home examined.

Dr. John M. Kobayashi, a state epidemiologist, said rabies was suspected only after the dead man’s brain tissue was examined under a microscope at the university as part of an autopsy.

A conclusive diagnosis was made in CDC lab tests, he said.

“We do not know at this time how the man was exposed, but many recent cases have been linked to bat exposure,” said Dr. Mark Trucksess, the county’s health officer.

In this case, however, “there wasn’t any obvious history of bat exposure,” Kobayashi said.