CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- The first rabies death in Iowa in half a century has prompted fears of exposure in people who had contact with the 20-year-old victim.
Eleven people lined up for rabies shots Monday and officials at St. Luke's Hospital were flying in more vaccine Tuesday to deal with the situation.
Ronald Buckley of Cedar Rapids died Saturday. Officials said they think he was infected by a rabid bat.
Tom Hart, environmental supervisor at the Linn County public health department, said there had been no documented cases of human-to-human transmission but it is possible rabies could be passed through saliva into someone else's mouth, eyes, nose or open wound. Hart said the risk of such transmission, however, is low. Health officials were looking for people who may have had contact with Buckley in the week before he was hospitalized since the infection can be transmitted by sharing cigarettes.
Buckley, a rap artist and music producer, was hospitalized for 12 days. He was not initially diagnosed with rabies and hospital workers knew only that he was suffering some kind of viral encephalitis.
As many as 20 friends and family members may have been exposed. Eleven people sought rabies shots Monday. Generally, at least two shots are given initially, followed by a series of four single shots over subsequent days.
Rabies is rare in the United States with only two deaths reported in an average year. The last rabies death in Iowa occurred in 1951, a 6-year-old boy.
