Mass. man who had rabies from bat dies

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MARSTONS MILLS, Mass., Jan. 30 (UPI) -- A 63-year-old Massachusetts man who fought rabies for the last month has died, officials said.

Kevin A. Galvin, president of the Marstons Mills Historical Society and owner of a historic home in the village, died at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston of rabies encephalitis, The Cape Cod Times reported his death certificate said.

His death, caused by a bite from a rabid bat, is the first death from a case of rabies acquired in the commonwealth since 1935 although in 1983, a resident of Massachusetts died of rabies after being exposed in Nigeria.

Galvin apparently was bitten in his Marstons Mills home, but didn't know it until symptoms started showing and by that time the virus has invaded the brain, health officials said.

Until 10 years ago, Galvin ran Galvin Associates, a software development company in Hingham. He sold the company and moved with his wife to Marstons Mills, where he employed his computer expertise to digitize records for the Marstons Mills Historical Society.

Rabies is rare in the United States and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta said only six cases were reported last year, of which five were fatal.