What is Rabies? | Misconceptions
Like all mammals, bats can contract rabies; a deadly viral disease of the central nervous system. In almost all cases, the virus is passed on through the bite of an infected animal. It can also be transmitted if a rabid mammal’s saliva enters an open wound or comes in contact with mucous membrane.
Rabies incubation in humans is anywhere from 10 days to several years. Rabies is a virus that any mammal can contract. In almost all cases the virus is passed on through a bite from the infected animal. Rabies is a potentially fatal disease unless treated quickly. There are many rumors about bats and rabies, one of these rumors is that all bats carry rabies. Bats are NOT carriers of rabies, they can get rabies, but they die of it just like any other animal.
Bats can get the rabies virus, but the incidence of bats and rabies is very low, usually only about one half of one percent of bats tested, test positive for the virus. If you take into consideration that people have a much higher chance of getting attacked by a dog, falling down a flight of stairs, or being struck by lightning and dying than dying of a bat bite you can see that rabies is rare. Chances are even better in winning your state lottery, than getting bitten by a bat with rabies. Here are a few notifiable diseases reported in 1995 in the United States: Chlamydia, 477,638; Gonorrhea, 392,848; AIDS, 71,547; Hepatitis, 41,000; Lyme Disease, 11,700; Syphilis, 68,953; Salmonellosis, 45,970; Whopping Cough, 5,137; E. Coli, 2,139; Malaria, 1,419; Mumps, Measles, 309; Botulism, 97; Toxic Shock Syndrome, 191; Tetanus, 41; Trichinoses, 29; Plage, 9; Rabies, 5; Poliomyelitis, 2.
In 1995 over 1,000 people died of Malaria, a virus transmitted by mosquitoes, the very things that bats eat and therefore, protect us from. Bats are very advantageous in this way, one bat can eat roughly 600-1,000 mosquitoes and other insect pests each HOUR in our backyard.
With the facts about bats stated as well as their benefits, it is true that wild animals can be potentially dangerous if handled. If a person finds a bat the best thing to do is just leave it alone. Although bats do not attack people they will bite if touched.
Most often when people have been bitten by bats it is because they have either consciously or unconsciously touched the bat. The easiest thing to keep in mind is to never touch any wild animal. All wild animals will bite if they feel threatened. If you have been bitten by an animal, try to capture the animal to have it tested for rabies by your local health department. The animal, bats included, should be tested that very day, insist on it! If you can not catch the animal go to the emergency and ask for rabies post exposure shots, again insist on it. This is very important, you do not want to wait for more than 2 days, especially if the bite was close to the head.
Bats are one of the most misunderstood animals in the world. One such misconception about bats is that they are all rabid. Bats can contract rabies, but they also suffer the symptoms of the disease and eventually die from it. Bats are not unaffected carriers of rabies. So if all bats had rabies, there would be no bats in the world. When bat specimens are sent into state laboratories for testing, the number of bats with rabies is around 5-10%. This figure is highly inflated because only those bats that are suspected of having rabies are brought in to be tested. Past research indicates that the actual incidence of rabies in bat populations is less than 0.5% in most areas.
It is also often believed that if a rabid animal contracts the rabies virus, that it will attack you. The disease can manifest in two ways. The animal can be come paralyzed, or it can become aggressive. Bats will usually exhibit the paralytic form of rabies, which immobilizes the animal. Although they are not usually aggressive, bats will bite if they are threatened. Also, outbreaks of rabies in bats have never been reported, unlike the skunk, raccoon, and fox.
Chances of coming in contact with a rabid bat is very rare. In fact, chances are better to die from getting struck by lightning, a plane crash, falling down a flight of stairs, or being killed by your spouse. Actually, you have a higher chance of winning your state lottery that being bitten by a bat with rabies. Even though coming in contact with a rabid animal may be uncommon, it is wise to know what to do if you are in that situation.
Bat Zone at Cranbrook Institute of Science
39221 Woodward Ave. P.O. Box 801
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48303
248.645-3232
Contact the Organization for Bat Conservation