INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - A 10-year-old girl who was being treated for the first
confirmed case of rabies in Indiana since 1959 has died.

Shannon Carroll of Bourbon in northern Indiana died Thursday morning at
Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, said hospital spokeswoman Jo
Ann Klooz.

Carroll was hospitalized in early October after being bitten in June by a
rabid bat, health officials said. More than 30 relatives, friends and
classmates of the girl were offered injections to prevent the spread of the
disease.

Some parents whose children attend the girl's school in the town of Bourbon,
about 25 miles south of South Bend, worried about possible exposure since
rabies can stay dormant for more than a year.

Human to human transmission of rabies is only possible through direct
contact with saliva, health officials said.

State records show Indiana's last human rabies case was in 1959, when a
Sullivan County resident died from the disease.

Rabies is a viral disease transmitted to humans and other animals through
saliva, usually in a bite. It attacks the brain and nervous system and
typically leads to death once symptoms appear.