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St. Charles County Department of Community
Health & The Environment
Rabies Shots for Pets, Cautious Approach with
Bats Urged by Department of Community Health and the Environment
Five St. Charles County Bats Were Found with
Rabies in 2000
St. Charles County - Spring is upon us with open windows
and doors and outdoor activity on the increase. This is also the
time when bats become active after the cold winter months. Due to
these inevitable events, the St. Charles County Department of
Community Health and the Environment urges residents to make sure
their pets have received a current rabies vaccination and take
reasonable precautions to avoid human contact with bats
A review of the impact of rabies during 2000 shows that Missouri
had 50 cases of animal rabies confirmed by laboratory examination.
Bats represented 44 of those cases. Five bats were reported from St.
Charles County, one from Warren County, 15 from St. Louis County,
five from St. Louis City, and two from Jefferson County during that
time. Due to presence of bats in our area, the Department of
Community Health and the environment wants residents to be aware of
the appropriate way to react when a bat is present or a family pet
comes in contact with a bat.
According to Gil Copley, Director of Community Health and
Environment, "Sick bats are not aggressive but become too sick to
fly and are often found on the ground. This poses a risk to curious
pets that may sniff or mouth or even pick up rabies infected bats. A
current rabies vaccination will protect the pet."
Humans are also at risk for exposure if they are curious and
pick up the sick creature. If a bat is handled, it should be
captured with the assistance of an animal control officer. The bat
can be covered with a box, container, or an old blanket to trap it
until the animal control officer can respond. Anyone who handles a
bat should thoroughly wash any part of the body that contacted the
bat with soap and warm water as well as any known bite or scratch.
Immediate medical guidance should always be the next step. The bat,
if captured, will be sent to the State of Missouri Public Health
Laboratory to be tested for the rabies virus. If the handled bat is
not captured, a preventive series of vaccinations may be necessary.
A bat should also be captured if the animal is found inside the
home and occupants cannot rule out the possibility of exposure
defined as touching or being touched by the animal or the
possibility that the bat was present while occupants slept. The
above recommendations are from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
in Atlanta, Georgia.
The CDC states that "although people usually know when they have
been bitten by a bat, because bats have small teeth which may leave
marks that are not easily seen, sometimes there are situations in
which people should seek medical advice even in the absence of an
obvious bite wound." For example, if you awaken and find a bat in
your room, see a bat in the room of an unattended child, or see a
bat near a mentally impaired or intoxicated person, exposure cannot
be ruled out. Immediate medical advice should be sought and the bat
should be captured and tested for rabies. Having a bat on a front
porch, under the eaves of a house, or in an attic is not considered
exposure since there is no opportunity for exposure of occupants.
However, bats should always be prevented from entering a home."
To further explain the possible results of exposure to rabid
animals, you must understand what rabies is and how people get it.
According to the CDC, "rabies is an infectious viral disease that
affects the nervous system of humans and other mammals. People get
rabies from the bite of an animal with rabies (a rabid animal). Any
wild mammal, such as a raccoon, skunk, fox, coyote, or bat, can have
rabies and transmit it to humans. Although rare, it is also possible
that people may get rabies if infectious material from a rabid
animal, such as saliva, gets directly into their eyes, nose, mouth,
or a wound. In some foreign countries with poor or non-existent
rabies control programs, people may also be exposed to domestic dogs
and cats infected with the virus."
The CDC also states that "because rabies is a fatal disease, the
goal of public health officials is first, to prevent human exposure
to rabies by education and second, to prevent the disease with
anti-rabies treatment if exposure occurs. Tens of thousands of
people are successfully treated each year after being bitten by an
animal that may have rabies. A few people die of rabies each year in
the United States, usually because they do not recognize the risk of
rabies from the bite of a wild animal and do not seek medical
advice."
If a bite is left untreated and human rabies disease develops,
it is fatal. Most cases of human rabies identified in the U.S. in
the last 10 years were caused by exposure to bats. The presence of
rabies can be confirmed by advanced laboratory techniques, even when
it is not known how the victim was exposed. Alarmingly, in only one
of those bat-acquired cases was an obvious bite injury found.
For further information on bats and rabies, citizens can visit
the CDC Rabies Program web page at
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/rabies or go to the St. Charles
County Department of Community Health and the Environment website at
www.scchealth.org and select the rotating banner to go to the
CDC Program.
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