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Unfortunately
one of the biggest fears contributing to the misunderstanding of
bats, is they all “carry” rabies. Like other mammals,
bats do contract rabies. However, research generally cites that
only half of 1% of
bats have rabies. That does not mean you should
handle them: they will bite because they are afraid of you.
If
you are bitten by any animal that could be rabid—or if saliva
gets into your eyes, nose, mouth, or a wound—wash the affected
area thoroughly with soap and water and get medical advice immediately.
How
can rabies be prevented?
The best way to avoid rabies is to avoid exposure. Awareness of
the facts can help you protect yourself, family, and your family
pets. Enjoy wild animals (raccoons, skunks, foxes) from afar. Do
not handle, feed, or unintentionally attract wild animals with open
garbage cans or litter. Never adopt a wild animals or try to nurse
sick or orphaned wild animals to health. Call animal control, an
animal rescue agency, or a wildlife rehabilitator for assistance.
Prevent bats from entering your living quarters or occupied spaces
in your homes where they might come in contact with people and pets.
Teach children to never handle unfamiliar animals, wild or domestic,
even if they appear friendly. "Love your own, leave other animals
alone" is a good principle for children to learn. Be sure your
domestic animals are kept current on their rabies vaccinations.
Most counties require proof of vaccination in order to obtain a
license for dogs. There is also vaccine available for other domestic
animals that live or are allowed outdoors. If exposure does occur,
anti-rabies treatments will keep the disease from progressing. Before
traveling abroad, consult with a health care provider, travel clinic,
or your health department about the risk of exposure to rabies,
pre-exposure prophylaxis, and how you should handle an exposure,
should it arise.
What is
rabies and how do people get it?
Rabies is an infectious viral disease that affects the nervous
system of humans and other mammals. People get rabies from the bite
of an animal infected with rabies (rabid). Any wild animal like
a squirrel, skunk, fox, raccoon or bat, can have rabies and transmit
it to people. It is also possible, but quite rare, that rabies can
be contracted if infectious material from a rabid animal, such as
saliva, gets directly into an eye, nose, mouth, or a wound.
Rabies is the
oldest known communicable disease. In ancient times, if you were
bitten by a "mad dog" your neighbors might sneak into your home
while you were sleeping, to smother you to death so you would not
spread the disease. In Aristotle's time, rabies was treated with
either amputation or cauterization. Later, with the first rabies
injections, it wasn't just the numerous injections in the umbilical
area that made the treatment so bad. Often you would get serum sickness
from the vaccine and become so ill you would be afraid you were
dying. Then, as treatment continued you would get even sicker and
afraid that you would not die.
What is
the current treatment for rabies?
We have come a long way in developing better treatment for this
potentially fatal disease. Currently, treatment consists of one
dose of HRIG (human rabies immunoglobulin), dosage measured by weight,
and 5 injections of rabies vaccine. As with any vaccine, there is
risk of adverse reaction, but to date, none have been life threatening
and they have been 100% effective in preventing the disease if they
are started as soon as possible after the exposure. Although HRIG
is uncomfortable, the rabies shots themselves are relatively painless.
The treatment also provides certain benefits as does pre-exposure
vaccination. You are protected from non-apparent exposure and if
you do happen to suffer a direct exposure from a rabid animal, you
will not need to receive HRIG again, only requiring 2 booster injections
of rabies vaccine, even years later. Of course, if you are handling
any Rabies Vector Species (RVS) pre-exposure is a must and a titer
(level of rabies antibody in your system) test should be done every
2 years to ensure that you still have satisfactory protection.
What tissues
and secretions are infectious?
The virus may be located in the central and peripheral nervous systems,
the saliva and brain tissue of infected bats.
Can I get
rabies in any way other than an animal bite?
A quote from the Center for Disease Control: "Non-bite exposures
to rabies are very rare. Scratches, abrasions, open wounds, or mucous
membranes contaminated with saliva or other potentially infectious
material (such as brain tissue) from a rabid animal constitute non-bite
exposures. Occasionally reports of non-bite exposure are such that
post-exposure prophylaxis is given. Inhalation of aerosolized rabies
virus is also a potential non-bite route of exposure, but aside
from laboratory workers, most people are [very] unlikely to encounter
an aerosol of rabies virus. [It is IMPORTANT to remember that]
other contact, such as petting a rabid animal or contact with
the blood, urine or feces (e.g., guano) of a rabid animal, does
not constitute an exposure and is not an indication for
prophylaxis."
How long
does rabies virus persist in the environment?
It depends on the ambient conditions, but the rabies virus is
not especially persistent under most normal conditions. It is destroyed
rapidly at temperatures greater than 50 C
(approve 120 F) , and
generally is believed to survive no more than a few hours at room
temperature. However, it will persist for years in frozen tissues.
Is there
a reliable method of rabies diagnosis for live animals?
No. Although several techniques, including skin biopsy, corneal
smears, and serologic tests have been promoted, an unacceptable
level of false-negative results severely limits their usefulness.
The only reliable rabies test is done using tissue from the brain
of the suspect animal.
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In
1997, the Center for Disease Control published a hypothesis
(an unproved scientific theory used for further investigation) that
it might be possible for humans to contract rabies from a bat by
having a bat come close or fly over them.
Absolutely no evidence was found to support this hypothesis, and
it should have died. However, as is often the case, some health
departments and news media began to publish warnings and hysteria
was born!
Below is a resolution adopted by the bat researchers in attendance
at the North American Symposium on Bat Research.
A
Resolution Concerning Bat Bites and Rabies
Reprinted
from Bat Research News, Volume 41: No. 1, Spring 2000
At
the 29th Annual North American Symposium on Bat Research held at
the University of Wisconsin in October of 1999, Merlin Tuttle proposed
a resolution concerning the responses to incidents of bat bites.
After much discussion and careful review, the Board of Directors
adopted the following resolution.
Be
it resolved on this 30th day of October 1999, that researchers gathered
at the 29th North American Symposium on Bat Research find no credible
support for the hypothesis that undetected bites by bats are a significant
factor in transmitting rabies to humans, as implied by the January
16, 1998 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. In
our collective experience, bats seldom are aggressive, even when
sick, and humans typically feel and recognize any bites they receive.
The undetected bite hypothesis appears to be derived from the inability
of medical professionals to interview patients due to late moribund
or postmortem diagnoses. In the rare cases in which humans contract
rabies from bats or to other animals, the available evidence strongly
suggests that bites were involved and could have been remembered
had the patients been coherent. We are deeply concerned about the
impacts and resulting negative consequences for bats stemming from
the undetected bite hypothesis, which has apparently moved from
theory to fact without adequate testing. The consequences are both
economic and social. The economic costs are clear, and the social
impact is seen, both in the way that people react to bats and in
the way that conservation efforts are impeded. The undetected bite
hypothesis is not supported by evidence, and it should not drive
public policy nor public health responses. We recognize the need
for reasonable precautions against rabies, including vaccination
of all who handle bats professionally, and public education that:
1) cautions never to handle bats or other animals; 2) warns to seek
immediate medical evaluation of any actual or suspected animal bite;
and 3) places risks in perspective with values.
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