Baby dies after rat bite, Cumberland County coroner says

A 6-month-old Dillsburg baby died after a rat bite, according to the Cumberland County coroner.

Coroner Charlie Hall said the baby, from the 500 block of South Baltimore Street, was brought in to Holy Spirit Hospital emergency room on Dec. 30 with a fever and a rash, treated and released with medication. The baby was brought back on Jan. 1, lethargic and with a high fever, and ultimately died, Hall said Thursday.

An autopsy done Jan. 5 showed meningitis and myocarditis as the cause, Hall said. But through investigation, officials learned the baby had been bitten by a pet rat, raised by the parents to feed snakes, he said.

The results of subsequent lab testing, received last week, showed the baby had rat bite fever, which ultimately caused the meningitis and myocarditis, Hall said.

Carroll Township Police and York County Children, Youth and Families are investigating, Hall said, and he filed a report with ChildLine.

Hall said his primary reason for releasing the information was so that parents know if they keep exotic pets, they need to be careful with children.

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This article comes to us through a partnership between the York Daily Record and WITF.