"Dad there's a bat in my room"

[armenius]

Stevens has a good link to read.In SC raccoons are to be considered as carrying Rabies since it is so common,however CDC reports a number of cases of Rabies over a 16 year period.Only one case due to raccoons,none to otters or beavers.A couple of dogs, but by far the great majority due to bats and several cases of bat Rabies with no known contact.Not many cases,but considered 100% FATAL,even though there has been a survivor or two after extensive unusual treatment.

 

[medxam]

Back 60+ years ago, flying squirrels used to get in our old house. My mother despised them and would retrieve one of my father's golf clubs, usually a 7 iron, and go after them with a vengeance. After having to patch the plaster several times, my father started leaving his golf clubs in his car.

medxam

 

[vigil617]

Aerosolized bat feces? I've got think on that one a while. I know there's a great one liner there, I just can't put my finger on it right now.

Crazy in a can?

 

[forestswin]

kosmic
First off - I thoroughly enjoyed your story. A story well told and sure beat reading the news.

sorry to poop on the forum thread - it was early and a Monday

But I thought I should say something, that I heard from my doctor.

When we had our rabid groundhog ordeal a rabid groudhog attacked my dog - the reason I had to get rabies shots was because I was checking my dog - going through his fur to see if there were any signs of scratches or bites on him. My neighbor saw the groundhog attack our dog and they both went into a bush and my neighbor couldn't tell if there was any contact between the two. I did not mishandle the groundhog. I mishandled the contact with my dog. I never touched the groundhog.

The health department guy who tested the groundhog asked me if I was absolutely certain that I hadn't touch my mouth, nose or eyes after handling my dog. I couldn't answer yes

He told me " here's the way it is, rabies is spread through the infected animals saliva - generally it is passed onto other animals from deep bites - but if it transmitted to the eyes, nose, mouth or lungs - its the same - and if you get rabies - 100% you die - the only way to counter that percentage is to get the shots - so I got the shots.

My doctor who started me on my shots told me he killed a bat in his attic with a tennis racket - he had the bat tested - it was rabid - so he had to go through the shots too because bats aerosolized their saliva and he could have inhaled some.

Worst part is - we did take our dog to the vet. Dog was fine. The vet then reminded us that our dog had up-to-date rabies shots so he would have been fine

 

[DeathGrip]

In our area of NY you had a better chance of contracting rabies from an otter or a cow in May than a bat. And by far the worst carrier in our area is the raccoon. I see bats, raccoons, opossum, fox, coyotes and cows routinely. We have to coexist.

Thanks for your concern.

I ain't saying I want to get bit by a possum but my understanding is they are marsupials and don't get rabies.

 

[mwtdvm]

Rabies and pre-exposure vaccination

I'm old, so I have a long memory about some things and one of them is prophylactic rabies vaccination.
There has been considerable evolution of vaccination programs since I was a Vet student back in the 70's. We were given three injections at an interval of 3 months and then six months if my memory serves me correctly. The source was duck embryo killed virus. If you ever saw the "Bass-o-matic" commercial on SNL, well that is what the stuff they were injecting into us looked like. 3 months after our last injection, a blood sample was taken and our level of protection was determined. A titer of greater than 1:32 was considered protective. I was quite happy with > 1:600. At the time we were told that was "lifetime" immunity. Fast forward ten years and I find out that "lifetime" was really 7 years, so I got boostered. I have religiously been boostered because the adage "It's the one you never suspected" is the one that has rabies.
If I was living in a rural environment where rabies occurs, I would have my whole family vaccinated. The latest vaccine, human diploid origin, is a lot safer than the "bass-o-matic" stuff of 40 years ago. Rabies is a death sentence and if you can prevent it you should!
BTW, the new stuff given at 0.1 ml intradermally builds excellent protection. The label says SC or IM so you will have to bully someone to give it to you that way, As the IM/SC dose is 1 ml in theory, ten people could be vaccinated with one dose ID. I am not sure as to the current interval of injections for initial protection, again, this is not post exposure vaccination.
As always, Check with your Dr.

Be Safe!!

 

[shouldazagged]

Back 60+ years ago, flying squirrels used to get in our old house. My mother despised them and would retrieve one of my father's golf clubs, usually a 7 iron, and go after them with a vengeance. After having to patch the plaster several times, my father started leaving his golf clubs in his car.

medxam

I've always heard that's a job for a four iron anyway.

 

[amazingflapjack]

I thought you were going to say that by the time your Wife and son returned, that the bat had flown back in the now screen less window.

 

[Frank46]

My wife and some of our other relatives all had trailers as a sort of summer home up in the Poconos. Well my mother in law and her mother were sitting in the closed in screened porch with this critter flying back and forth. My mother in law asked what was that critter. My reply was that it was a bat. Picture two women with bouffant type hair-do's running around screaming and yelling while my father in law is running around chasing the poor bat with a broom and death in his eyes. And as for me, I'm standing there laughing with tears in my eyes and my wife asks what is going on. Your dad is trying to kill a bat. I tell you that I laughed so hard my ribs were sore for a week. My Mother in law was so ticked off at me it was a long time before she spoke to me. Anyway, the bat got wasted and I still laugh when I think about the great bat hunt. Funny thing is we used to get them all the time in Queens county NYC, and the owls would be out chasing them. Frank

 

[Delos]

The law, sometimes there is no law

CDC - Rabies in the U.S. - Rabies

Above site says 2 people a year die from rabies in United States.

Last I checked about 12,000 people die from drunk driving accidents each year?

If I could get a vaccination against drunk drivers I would buy one tomorrow.

(Except I now live on the edge of a small North Dakota town and the folks seem to know things that California surfers never heard of. One day I ripped open a black bag of trash near my old but new to me barn. My rip expose a bit of white cloth that made the black bag look like a skunk from a distance. Later as I was working near the road an old lady came to an abrupt stop and ask if I had a rifle, pointing out the skunk looking bag and saying "skunk". Never in my long life has an old lady stopped and almost demanded I get a rifle and shoot a furry animal? Obviously there is a history here that I do not know, and better learn). (I am inside the city limits where one is not supposed to shoot guns. Old lady was ex-mayors wife. Some things supersede laws).

North Dakota Rabies Activity map 2013
Rabies Main Page

Hmmm…..