QUESTIONS ABOUT BATS AND RABIES
Don't all bats carry rabies?
In actuality bats carry rabies far less then other animals. Less than 1/2 of 1% of all bats may carry the rabies virus. There is only one human death per year from bat rabies in the United States. Dogs attack and kill more people per year than die from bat rabies in ten years. Even when bats are infected they seldom become aggressive and die of the disease quickly.
What is rabies?
Rabies is a viral disease that affects the central nervous system of humans and other mammals. There are a variety of mammals that can contract the rabies virus, including foxes, skunks, raccoons, coyotes, bats, foxes, cats and dogs and livestock. Rabies is usually transmitted by a bite from an infected animal although exposure to saliva and nervous tissue and open wounds or sores from an infected animal sometimes are also a way of transmission. Throughout the world 30,000+ people die from the disease each year. 99% of these deaths come from contact with rabid dogs. In the United States because of vaccination programs, contracting rabies from dogs and cats is now rare.
What are ways to prevent exposure to rabies?
One of the most important things pet owners can do is to make sure their dogs and cats are vaccinated against rabies according to their veterinarians instructions. Children should be educated that any wild animal can be possibly rabid and certainly any wild animal that is readily approachable should be considered as potentially rabid. Children and adults should never handle any wild animal. Certainly anytime a bat is found on the ground and is approachable it should always be considered sick. Up to 95% of sick bats are not rabid, but taking a risk of being bitten by handling a suspect bat is very risky and could prove to be fatal. Any bite from an animal should be immediately reported to a doctor or the local Department of Public Health. If you should find a bat on the ground or you find a sickly looking bat, call an animal control officer and do not attempt to handle the bat yourself.
Can bats transmit rabies to other kinds of wildlife or domestic animals and pets?
There is no evidence to suggest that rabies outbreaks in other kinds of wildlife and livestock can be linked to bats. Rabies can on occasion be transmitted to other wildlife if another animal comes into contact with a rabid bat. There are no records of a bat to dog transmission although there are rare transmissions to cats. These cases can be virtually eliminated if dogs and cats are kept properly vaccinated.
What about putting up bat houses to attract bats?
Putting up a bat house and having it occupied by bats is statistically safer than having an unvaccinated dog or cat or even gardening. Flowers in gardens attract bees and bee stings cause far more human fatalities than bats. The important thing to remember if you have an occupied bat house is to never handle a bat that you may find on the ground beneath your bat house. If you have to dispose of it, wear heavy gloves and use a shovel to pick up the bat.
Having bats around your yard is very beneficial. Most garden pests are, in their adult form, night fliers (example: caterpillars=moths). With bats in the area, many adult moths can hear the echolocation calls of bats from 100 feet away and will avoid the area, lest becoming dinner for a hungry bat!
