I am Batman.

Glad you got the critter out, also good to get tested.

Read at your own risk.....

https://www.npr.org/sections/health...oom-can-spread-rabies-without-an-obvious-bite

 

Problem is bats have little needle teeth so some people wouldn't know they've been bitten in their sleep. Especially heavy sleepers (me). So getting it tested is the best route.

Yes, homemade mask for Hokie football games! Modified from a template created by Wintercroft masks. Lots of pieces to cut out but fun to make. This was modified from the Finch mask.

 

I get a kick out of people rabies is leaser of the problem.. .. There poop can destroy a house from hell and it not very easy to clean up... That's more of a biohazard and can make you SICK...

I had a problem with the eve of the house and bats... Finally they left one night and covered it up with fine metal so they couldn't return to the hiding spot.. I spend the next 3 months with biohazard stuff cleaning up there poop and let me tell you it's no fun and smells worst than septic tank overflowing..

 

Thanks for the information that is good to know!! Thats cool you had a net on hand too.

 

My fishing net!

 

Good to know. Everything I know about guano is from Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls.

 

I was wondering about the poop and pee and anything they touch also. I would be going to town with disinfectant wipes too.

 

I work I.T. as well
My wife used to work with the CDC and she chuckled.

I guess we all over react over something and yours is a bat in the house.

Some get a bird in the house and are afraid they will get mites.

 

I’m not sure how I was overreacting. I wanted to catch and release, but my wife went bat shit crazy (pun intended) over wanting to test it. So that’s what we are doing. Now thinking about it, she is right. Better safe than sorry. I also went to Africa for 9 weeks in an area where there was low risk to contract malaria. Didn’t mean I was going to NOT take malarone (malaria medicine). It’s all precautionary. Obviously we won’t get the rabies vaccine if the test comes back negative.

 

Reminded me of the movie, The great outdoors

 

I WAS Batman. After wife 1 I was 40 and one of my girlfriend's was 28 legs from here to there. She insisted I grab her by the shoulders,look her in the eyes and say "I AM BATMAN". Then it was off to the races. No I did not marry her.

 

I’m quite new here. This popped up in my news fed and got my attention. I read a few of the posts and really feel the need to reply.

Ignorance can kill.

Bats carry rabies. They are the principal vectors for rabies in the US. 92% of all cases of rabies in the US from 1990 to 2016 were caused by bats. Transmission of rabies is so easy that it can be spread by a small scratch, possibly with no break in the skin being seen.

Rabies is deadly. It is nearly 100% fatal once it reaches the hydrophobic stage. The Milwaukee Protocol (where the person is placed in a medically induced coma to basically ride it out) has only been successful once—with 40 subsequent failures (deaths).

Given the very high danger associated with rabies transmission from bats, the ease of transmission, and that rabies is 100% fatal the recommendations for treatment after exposure are very clear. If there is any risk of exposure, treat with prophylaxis.

A few shots are a lot better than a miserable and prolonged death.

The current recommendations are if a bat is found in a room with a sleeping adult, with an adult that was not aware that it was there, with a child, or with a mentally incompetent individual then it should be assumed that person had contact with the bat and they should be treated appropriately. Even if no bites or scratches can be found.

The only persons in the healthcare community that question this recommendation are those concerned with costs versus benefit: whether the benefit of saving a few lives is worth spending a lot of money. The rest of the healthcare community that have any dealings with rabies pretty much agree with the recommendation.

The one caveat is if the bat can be caught and tested. In that case the prophylaxis can be delayed up to 14 days (10 days, per some sources) to allow for testing.

Promptly and properly administered rabies prophylaxis (the rabies vaccine and immunoglobulin) are 100% effective at preventing rabies. The rabies vaccine is a small shot that is given, usually in the arm, in a series of 4 shots over 2 weeks for most people. The rabies immunoglobulin is a much bigger set of shots given once, as soon as possible after the exposure.

It is worth it if there is any chance of exposure. Rabies spreads slowly and surely. It moves from the site of exposure along the nerves to the brain. There it causes symptoms of pain and delirium and eventually death.

The virus can take years to reach the brain, depending on where the bite was and other factors.

The vaccine and immunoglobulin are very safe, and even seem to be safe in pregnancy. I have been using them for years and have never observed any adverse reaction.

I am not making any of this up. This is all common knowledge in the competent medical community. We have been dealing with rabies for thousands of years and have been saving people from it ever since Pasteur gave us the vaccine against it.

A bit about myself. I have over 20 years experience in healthcare. First as an EMT, then as a Navy corpsman, later as an ER nurse and now as a nurse practitioner. I am board certified in family practice, acute care, and emergency care. I currently work in a trauma center where I treat someone from possible rabies exposure every 2-3 months, including a lot of bat exposures. And yes, some of those that I treated were bit by a bat that latter tested positive for rabies.

Anyway, I hope that this is helpful. VTYOTA, I’m glad you could catch it. I hope that it tests negative. But if it tests positive or if the tests is delayed I encourage you to start the prophylaxis.

 

I’m quite new here. This popped up in my news fed and got my attention. I read a few of the posts and really feel that the need to reply.

Ignorance can kill.

Bats carry rabies. They are the principal vectors for rabies in the US. 92% of all cases of rabies in the US from 1990 to 2016 were caused by bats. Transmission of rabies is so easy that it can be spread by a small scratch, possibly with no break in the skin being seen.

Rabies is deadly. It is nearly 100% fatal once it reaches the hydrophobic stage. The Milwaukee Protocol (where the person is placed in a medically induced coma to basically ride it out) is about 8% successful in treating rabies once it is in the hydrophobic stage. Literally only a handful of people in human history have survived rabies once symptoms had developed.

 

Am I the only one thinking you might come in very handy here on the forum?

 

Thank you for your continued service


(we need a salute emoticon)

 

Thanks for all the good info. We really hope it tests negative as well. My wife is an NP as well and the reason why she was so adament about getting the bat tested.

 

UPDATE: Bat tested negative for rabies.

 

Whew!!!!!! One less thing to worry about!

 

RIP bat.....

 

Yeah, that's the one thing I feel bad about, but it was the right decision for us.

 

Better safe than sorry.

 

Knock me over with a feather

Lol

 

Interesting related followup...
New Hampshire Man, 86, Bitten by Rabid Bat That Crawled Out of His iPad Case
https://news.yahoo.com/hampshire-man-86-bitten-rabid-052141662.html

 

Obviously not normal behavior for a bat.