Bats and RabiesIt is Halloween and that means the season for bats is here. I recently read an informative article about autumn exposures to bats which was based on an interview with the state veterinarian for Nebraska - Dr. Annette Bredthauer. Immediately I flashed back to my TWO experiences with bats inside my house at Halloween. One experience was 3 years ago and the other was 5 years ago. Both situations occurred at dusk. After the fact, my neighbor told me that he was outside at dusk and saw a bunch of bats (is that a flock? Or a covey? What do you call a bunch of bats, anyway?) flying over and around our houses. My house is in the city - not out in the country and it is not a big old haunted house! But that night after dark, one bat was in my house flying around on the first floor. I was home alone and suddenly in a big panic. Being an infection control nurse, I was aware of the risk of rabies when bats come inside your house especially your into your bedroom. I had no butterfly net to trap it and with the "radar" mechanism that bats have, I thought a broom was useless. To make this long story short, I was rescued by my younger daughter, Mary. She has a biology degree with a specialty in animal behavior - thus qualifying her to respond to my hysterical phone call and come over to see if it was truly a bat. When she pulled into my driveway with her headlights beaming, I opened the door and the bat flew out the door. I searched for any droppings, and finding none, I was able to get to sleep that night and rest well.My second experience was much the same - same prelude- one bat flying around on the first floor making that horrible wing-flapping sound. This time I ran across the street to beg the neighbors to come and help me. While I was out of the house, I lost the bat. Seth and I searched everywhere and could not find him- her - or it. I knew better than to go to sleep in the house with a live bat. Eventually, we located the sleeping bat - hanging upside down in a hat on my hall tree. Seth took the hat outside and set the bat free. Then I threw the hat in the trash can!
- Late summer and fall is the time of year that bats are most often found inside houses and buildings in increased numbers. Dr. Bredthauer says this is partly because the time for their migration and hibernation is coming. Additionally, the young baby bats raised in the summer become disoriented and enter buildings. - Bats carry the rabies virus in their saliva and transmit the virus when they bite a person. The bite is usually superficial and often overlooked. - Children should be told to never PLAY with bats if they find them in a cave or on a tree or bush outside. If there is one on the ground, it should be left alone. This is an important message to give children and to reinforce seasonally - don't touch bats or dead birds or squirrels or dogs behaving badly. - Bats can bite you while you are asleep and you might not be aware of it. So bats should be captured and tested if: one is found in the bedroom where someone is sleeping, or a bat is found in a room with individuals who are unaware or can't communicate about it (small children or those individuals with disabilities), or if someone steps on a bat or has some other direct exposure to a bat. - To catch a bat - leave it to the experts - call your local animal control center. The bat should be captured when it lands on a wall or curtains, according to Dr. Bredthauer. A butterfly net and a stiff piece of cardboard are the best tools. If you find a bat in the room of someone who has been sleeping, don't shoo it out the door. Call someone (animal control) to capture it for testing. And don't smash it with a broom - the brain needs to be intact for the testing. The slogan for the Rabies Virus nanobug is, "I love rats and bats and feral cats". Rabies is most commonly found in bats, skunks and raccoons but could be found in dogs cats, and squirrels - actually, any biting mammal - wild or domestic. No wonder bats contribute to the scary ambiance of Halloween. Just remember that avoidance is how you do prevention with this nanobug.
This entry was posted on October 30th, 2007 at 6:07 pm. RSS
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Well, besides the creepy appearance of bats and the strong emotions they create when they invade our spaces, there are health reasons to avoid bats - the main one is the transmission of Rabies Virus. This is a nasty nanobug and so I feel compelled to pass on what I know about preventing rabies from bats:
