Having heard recently of a young boy dying of rabies after having played with a bat, I am compelled to write this letter. For whatever reason, many people don’t understand that handling or touching bats is dangerous.

Rabies is endemic in bats, i.e. at any given moment some member of the colony will have the virus. They are different from other mammals in that they can have the disease but survive. While they have the disease, they are actively spreading it by biting, scratching, etc. They are ill and can be caught easily; don’t touch them.

In man, barring a very few recent exceptions, rabies is always fatal. If you are bitten by a bat, report it to your medical professional immediately. Diagnosing the bat with rabies can only be done in a laboratory. If you have the bat that bit you, your doctor will advise you on who will ship it to an appropriate laboratory. He may also want to start rabies shots on you until the diagnosis is made.

Bats navigate with high-frequency sound echoing and “see” with their ears. They have very poor eyesight and cannot be blinded by headlights.

Should you hit one with your car and injure or kill it, don’t touch it. If the bat had not been sick, it should have had no problem in avoiding your vehicle.

If it is stuck in the grille, remove it very carefully with a pair of pliers or other grasping tool. Wearing rubber gloves will offer additional protection. Be careful not to allow the dead bat to touch an open wound, and avoid being punctured with its teeth, claws, or protruding bones. Sterilize your grasping tool with a blow torch or by soaking in Clorox for several hours.

Be aware of the dangers of playing with bats and advise your children never to touch one. Don’t take a bat bite lightly.

For more information from the CDC on bats and rabies, go to www.cdc.gov.

Ed Field

Natchez