Madison County Health Department
(Wampsville, NY – Aug. 2014) Picture this, you wake up and see a bat flying around your bedroom. What do you do? The answer is to carefully catch it, so that it can be tested for rabies. Rabies is a fatal disease. While human rabies is rare in the United States, the most common way for people to get rabies in this country is through contact with a bat.
An exposure to rabies most commonly occurs when a person is bitten by a rabid animal. It can also be transmitted when the saliva from a rabid animal comes in contact with a person’s mouth, eyes, nose, or a fresh wound. Because people can be bitten by a bat and not know it, especially if they are sleeping, it is important to not release it outdoors. Keep the bat in a room by closing all windows and doors, including closet doors. Capture the bat using gloves and a coffee can or similar container, and then take it to your local health department who will submit it for rabies testing.
Any time a person is exposed to the bite, scratch, or saliva of a possibly rabid animal, and the animal is not available for testing, it is recommended that rabies post-exposure treatment begin within three to five days. Once a person becomes infected and symptoms begin to occur, rabies is almost always fatal.
The first shots of rabies post-exposure treatment are given in the hospital emergency room. Treatment cannot be administered without authorization from the Health Department. The remaining three to four shots may be given at a doctor’s office or at the local health department. The cost of treatment can be upwards of $2,000 to $3,000.
If authorized rabies post-exposure treatment is not covered by health insurance, the local health department will cover the cost, which ultimately gets passed on to the county taxpayers. And because thousands of dollars can add up quickly, it is more economical to get the bat tested for rabies than it is for a person or family to receive the post-exposure treatment without knowing whether or not the bat was rabid. The only way to know if a bat has rabies, is to get it tested.
If you find a bat in your home and think you or your pets might have come into contact with the animal in some way,catch the bat and call the Madison County Health Department at 315-366-2526.
To learn how best to capture a bat, visit www.healthymadisoncounty.org. A short video, “Catch the Bat Safely” can be found under Health Information, Health Topics A-Z, Bat rabies.