Bats: Threat of Rabies Small but REal

Fall 2016
By Dr. Patrick Rusz, Director of Wildlife Programs
Roger Henninger of Saginaw County was astounded when a public health official called him this spring to give him some bad news. The bat that had bitten him a few days earlier had tested positive for rabies.
“I couldn’t believe it,” said Henninger, a longtime high school teacher and friend of mine. “I was told the chance of a bat carrying rabies is about one in 200, and the odds of a person being bitten by a bat is like one in several million. So, I had about as much chance of this happening to me as winning big in the Lottery!”
Yet, it happened, and since rabies is a viral disease fatal to humans once symptoms begin, Roger had to undergo the infamously painful series
of rabies prevention shots. Five sets of shots were administered over a few months, but Roger noted they weren’t quite as painful as reputed. “I was told by the doctor that they have ‘improved their techniques’ over the years,” he recalled.
Roger was bitten while putting on his shoes in his bedroom one morning. “I felt what I thought was a sock in one of the shoes, pulled my foot out, and reached in to remove the “sock.” It turned out to be a bat and it bit me between my middle and ring fingers.” He was able to kill the bat, and headed to a nearby medical facility that contacted other health officials and got the bat tested.
Roger had never known of a bat in his house previously, and guesses the one that bit him may have gotten in by slipping through a hole he had drilled into a wall while installing a cable a couple of weeks before the incident occurred. “I didn’t seal it well, thinking I’d get back to it later. It didn’t seem large enough for a bat to get through.”
Although the chance of getting bitten by a rabid animal is indeed slim, the Michigan departments of Agriculture and Rural Development, Health and Human Services, and Natural Resources urge citizens to be aware of and adopt practices to protect their families, pets, and livestock from rabies. In 2009, a 55-year-old man died of rabies due to a bat-carried strain of the virus. He did not seek treatment following an exposure to a bat months earlier. Before that incident, the last human case in Michigan was reported in 1983, also likely acquired from contact with a rabid bat.
Several species of wild mammals, including bats, raccoons, foxes, and skunks, carry rabies. Bats are generally considered to have the highest frequency (but it is still low at around 0.5 percent). Biologists and veterinarians agree that it is very
important to teach people, especially children, not to touch wild mammals, regardless how healthy, cute, or tame they might appear. Pet or livestock owners that suspect their animals may have had contact with a potentially rabid animal should immediately contact their veterinarian for advice, even if the pet or livestock animal has been vaccinated against rabies. It also makes sense to check eaves, vents, and places where roof lines join in houses; these are among the places where bats or other animal might gain entry. Bats can find openings to roost spots even in fairly new houses.
In the 1970s and 80s, I was involved in trapping bats with mist nets that we usually placed over streams in different areas of Michigan. We had to handle the captured bats for species identification. My contract had a clause that required me or my assistants to immediately start the series of rabies prevention shots if bitten by a bat, regardless if the bat was tested and deemed negative for rabies. None of us were bitten, but we got the message. I have since been careful about handling bats and other wild mammals and do not find the many stories I’ve heard about people chasing bats around in their houses with tennis rackets very amusing. When Roger was bitten this spring, my concern about the small but real threat of rabies was rekindled.
Bats are among our most important mammals because of their roles in insect control and even in pollination. Conservation measures to protect bats have never been needed more, especially in the wake of the white-nose fungus disease that is killing tremendous numbers of hibernating bats. So, people should not look at killing bats around their yards as a good means of preventing rabies.
You should, however, try to avoid contact with any live, wild mammal. If bitten, seek medical attention immediately. That’s the simple but effective way to keep the odds in your favor.
By Dr. Patrick Rusz, Director of Wildlife Programs
Roger Henninger of Saginaw County was astounded when a public health official called him this spring to give him some bad news. The bat that had bitten him a few days earlier had tested positive for rabies.
“I couldn’t believe it,” said Henninger, a longtime high school teacher and friend of mine. “I was told the chance of a bat carrying rabies is about one in 200, and the odds of a person being bitten by a bat is like one in several million. So, I had about as much chance of this happening to me as winning big in the Lottery!”
Yet, it happened, and since rabies is a viral disease fatal to humans once symptoms begin, Roger had to undergo the infamously painful series
of rabies prevention shots. Five sets of shots were administered over a few months, but Roger noted they weren’t quite as painful as reputed. “I was told by the doctor that they have ‘improved their techniques’ over the years,” he recalled.
Roger was bitten while putting on his shoes in his bedroom one morning. “I felt what I thought was a sock in one of the shoes, pulled my foot out, and reached in to remove the “sock.” It turned out to be a bat and it bit me between my middle and ring fingers.” He was able to kill the bat, and headed to a nearby medical facility that contacted other health officials and got the bat tested.
Roger had never known of a bat in his house previously, and guesses the one that bit him may have gotten in by slipping through a hole he had drilled into a wall while installing a cable a couple of weeks before the incident occurred. “I didn’t seal it well, thinking I’d get back to it later. It didn’t seem large enough for a bat to get through.”
Although the chance of getting bitten by a rabid animal is indeed slim, the Michigan departments of Agriculture and Rural Development, Health and Human Services, and Natural Resources urge citizens to be aware of and adopt practices to protect their families, pets, and livestock from rabies. In 2009, a 55-year-old man died of rabies due to a bat-carried strain of the virus. He did not seek treatment following an exposure to a bat months earlier. Before that incident, the last human case in Michigan was reported in 1983, also likely acquired from contact with a rabid bat.
Several species of wild mammals, including bats, raccoons, foxes, and skunks, carry rabies. Bats are generally considered to have the highest frequency (but it is still low at around 0.5 percent). Biologists and veterinarians agree that it is very
important to teach people, especially children, not to touch wild mammals, regardless how healthy, cute, or tame they might appear. Pet or livestock owners that suspect their animals may have had contact with a potentially rabid animal should immediately contact their veterinarian for advice, even if the pet or livestock animal has been vaccinated against rabies. It also makes sense to check eaves, vents, and places where roof lines join in houses; these are among the places where bats or other animal might gain entry. Bats can find openings to roost spots even in fairly new houses.
In the 1970s and 80s, I was involved in trapping bats with mist nets that we usually placed over streams in different areas of Michigan. We had to handle the captured bats for species identification. My contract had a clause that required me or my assistants to immediately start the series of rabies prevention shots if bitten by a bat, regardless if the bat was tested and deemed negative for rabies. None of us were bitten, but we got the message. I have since been careful about handling bats and other wild mammals and do not find the many stories I’ve heard about people chasing bats around in their houses with tennis rackets very amusing. When Roger was bitten this spring, my concern about the small but real threat of rabies was rekindled.
Bats are among our most important mammals because of their roles in insect control and even in pollination. Conservation measures to protect bats have never been needed more, especially in the wake of the white-nose fungus disease that is killing tremendous numbers of hibernating bats. So, people should not look at killing bats around their yards as a good means of preventing rabies.
You should, however, try to avoid contact with any live, wild mammal. If bitten, seek medical attention immediately. That’s the simple but effective way to keep the odds in your favor.