Bat Bites
For as the eyes of bats are to the blaze of day, so is the reason in our soul to the things which are by nature most evident of all - Aristotle
image by: RussnMonica Stokes
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A bat in the bedroom leads to a lesson on rabies
Simply left alone, bats are harmless and highly beneficial. They are fascinating creatures, vital to the balance of nature around the world. Like most wild animals, bats prefer to avoid contact with humans. But in situations where bats and humans come into close proximity, it is important to understand how to prevent negative outcomes for humans AND bats.
Several scenarios might bring bats and humans together: bats sometimes accidentally fly into a home or business through open doors or windows; they might take advantage of existing small openings into attics, wall spaces, or chimneys and roost in structures where humans live or work; and sick, injured, or dead bats sometimes fall…
Resources
Bats, Not Dogs, Are the Most Common Source of Rabies
The C.D.C. recommends that if you are bitten or scratched by a bat, you should immediately wash the wound thoroughly and get medical attention. Each year, about 55,000 people receive an emergency series of rabies shots, because they think they have been exposed.
Humans Shouldn’t Be So Scared of Bats
In perspective, fewer humans have died of batborne diseases, worldwide, in the past 20 years than die annually in the U.S. alone from antibiotic-resistant infections.
Bats & Human Health
Simply left alone, bats are harmless and highly beneficial. They are fascinating creatures, vital to the balance of nature around the world. Like most wild animals, bats prefer to avoid contact with humans. But in situations where bats and humans come into close proximity, it is important to understand how to prevent negative outcomes for humans AND bats.
Bites, Bats, and being safe
A quiz about RABIES
Ebola outbreak traced back to toddler and fruit bat
Sabeti and her team used advanced genomic sequencing technology to identify a single point of infection from an animal to a human in the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The team's research also revealed the dynamics of how the virus has been transmitted from human to human, and traces how the genetic code of the virus is changing over time to adapt to human hosts.
Rabies
Rabies has never killed humans in great numbers, but it inspires fear far out of proportion to the risks. In part, this is because of the savage, almost supernatural mania that can grip its victims before they die.
A bat in the bedroom leads to a lesson on rabies
A small percentage of bats carries the rabies virus. Of all weak and sick bats captured and tested for the disease, only about 6 percent have the virus.
Bat World
A person can be bitten by a bat and not even feel it. FALLACY. Bat bites feel like sharp needle jabs. According to the United States Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), most people usually know when they have been bitten by a bat. However, a bat bite can be superficial and not easily noticed.
North American Society for Bat Research
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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