Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
It's not entirely clear, even to experts, why bat-strain rabies in humans, while extraordinarily rare, is
more common than human rabies caused by bites from dogs, cats, raccoons, foxes, and other mammals.
However, there is a strong suspicion that people who receive minor bites or scratches from bats may not
consider them significant, whereas most people bitten by larger mammals receive rabies shots—unless,
of course, the biting animal proves negative for rabies.
Although we have no reason to be apprehensive about the bats that flutter around us at night, some
precautions should be followed meticulously.
Never handle a bat, especially one that acts sick, unless absolutely necessary. In that event, wear
leather gloves to protect against bites.
According to the organization Bat Conservation Interna-
tional, “Careless handling is the primary source of rabies exposure from bats.”
Any contact with a bat should be reported to health authorities and your physician.
They will
evaluate the contact and decide whether or not rabies shots are needed.
In the event that a person may unknowingly have been exposed to contact with a bat, this should
promptly be reported to your state health department and your physician, as rabies shots may be
warranted.
Examples of this sort of unknowing contact with a bat include such things as a bat in
the room of a sleeping person or near a previously unattended child.
If possible, whenever contact with a bat is known or suspected, it's helpful if the bat can be
brought in for rabies testing. Obviously, one should avoid touching the bat; instead, catch it in a
net, paper bag, pail, or some other container.
A word about rabies shots might also be helpful. News accounts of rabies and rabid animals occasion-
ally refer to the “painful” series of rabies shots. This view is antiquated, to say the least, and it would
be tragic if anyone exposed to rabies avoided treatment for fear of painful shots.
Some years in the past, rabies prevention involved a lengthy series of shots in the abdomen that re-
putedly were quite painful. Now, however, post-exposure treatment for rabies consists of five shots over
a twenty-eight-day period. Although this treatment is expensive, it's 100 percent effective and isn't in-
ordinately painful.
My own experience in this regard might be helpful. We generate our own electrical power from the
sun, with a backup generator. One day last summer I opened the door of the generator house and was
startled when a bat flew out, brushed my arm, and landed on my pants leg.
Afraid that the bat might bite through the cloth if I frightened it, I started to take off my trousers
very slowly and carefully. At that point the bat took wing and fluttered to the side of the house, where it
clung to the wood. I went inside to get a bag with which to capture the bat, but it was gone by the time
I returned.
