Preventing Rabies Infection from Bats

My rooster, Crooked Toes trilled an alarm while I was in the barn. Following his gaze, I saw that a bat had gotten in the barn. I was terrified, and with good reason. Some bats do carry rabies. I managed to open up the door and run outside, only to have the bat follow me, getting about three feet away before turning and flying elsewhere.

Did I need to be so afraid when the bat flew into the barn? The chance of a bat having rabies is pretty small and according to the CDC, most bats don't carry rabies. Even so, bats are the third most common carriers of rabies behind raccoons and skunks.

As pet owners, we're often told to vaccinate our pets against rabies, but many pet owners let their pets' vaccinations lapse, or worse, not have their pets vaccinated at all. Rabies is more of a rarity than a disease we think of as commonplace. When someone contracts rabies, it makes the news.

What Is Rabies?

Rabies is a virus that affects only mammals. That means Crooked Toes and my chickens wouldn't contract it. However, my dogs and cats can, as can I, assuming the bat bit me. It's a disease that attacks the central nervous system, causing headaches, fever and discomfort at first, followed by brain and nervous system symptoms such as confusion, anxiety, hallucinations, fear of water, excessive salivation, paralysis and difficulty swallowing. Rabies is always fatal once symptoms appear, with the exception of one incident where a 15 year old actually recovered with special care. Rabies is only carried in the saliva of the animal, usually through a bite. You can't get rabies from urine, feces or blood.

Prevalence of Rabies

According to the Global Alliance for Rabies Control , there were more than 7000 reported rabies cases in animals in 2007 and about one to three people per year contract the virus in the United States. In other countries, the death toll is significantly higher where it is conservatively estimated that about 55,000 people die from this dreaded disease, most being children who are bitten, scratched or licked by an infected animal. Most of the rabies cases occur in Africa and Asia.

Preventing Rabies

Rabies is 100% preventable with vaccinating pets and with post exposure prophylaxis (PEP) or a series of rabies vaccinations. Dogs, cats, ferrets and livestock (horses and other pets) that come into contact with people should be vaccinated.

What Should You Do If You're Bitten

If you or someone you know is bitten by an unvaccinated or wild animal, it's important to capture the animal and turn it over to authorities for either quarantine or testing. Animals need to be quarantined for 10 days for observation or euthanized and tested for rabies. If a domesticated animal appeared healthy at the time of the bite, most animal shelters impose a 10 day quarantine. If the animal becomes sick or dies during this time the person bitten must undergo treatment; otherwise, the animal was healthy or wasn't contagious at the time it bit the person.

If the animal is found to be rabid or if the animal is unavailable, the person should start receiving post exposure prophylaxis (PEP) which is a series of four shots given in the arm, similar to a flu shot. This treatment is nearly 100% effective.

How to Prevent Rabies

1. Vaccinate your pets according to your veterinarian's recommendations.

2. Do not allow your pets to roam. Spay and neuter your pets.

3. Do not handle wild animals or stray dogs or cats.

4. If bitten, wash the wound with soap and water for five minutes, capture the animal if you can, seek medical treatment from a physician and report the bite to the local health department.

5. Bat-proof your home.

While rabies can indeed be a scary disease, you can be sure to stay safe if you follow the above precautions.

References

Bats and Rabies

Recovery of a Patient from Clinical Rabies

Global Alliance for Rabies Control

World Rabies Day

CDC: Rabies Domestic Animals