Bat colony poses risk to Davis residents
Bluedevilhub.com Staff–
A bat fell out of a tire swing on Aug. 13 in Community Park and crawled around on the ground until it was found by children playing in the park. The bat later tested positive for rabies.
A week later, the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office issued a press release to “warn the public about handling downed bats.” It also reminded people that quite a few bats that tested positive for rabies were found under the Covell Overpass at Community Park in 2013 and that if a bat is found on the ground law enforcement or animal services should be contacted.
“Most bats do not have rabies, but a bat on the ground has about a 1 in 10 chance of rabies. [The instances of rabies in bats in] Yolo County tend to be a bit higher,” said Corky Quirk, a local expert and founder of NorCal Bats.
“If a bat is weak, sick looking and found during the day there is a good likelihood it could be carrying rabies,” wildlife removal expert David Seevald said on his website.
Bats are nocturnal and should not be out in the day, especially on the ground.
Quirk also notes that if someone handles a bat with rabies, there is potentially an exposure, but rabies is not passed through the air; only through saliva.
Rachel Long, University of California Cooperative Extension farm advisor in Yolo County, says that if people pick up a bat and get bitten, or have an unvaccinated pet that picks up the bat, the rabies could be transmitted to people. Long also advised against ever picking up a bat and said that if someone does, he or she should seek medical attention immediately.
Junior Kathy Hu says that if a bat is found on the ground it should be left alone and animal services should be called.
“Bats are gentle; they never did anything to you,” Hu said.
Junior Mo Zheng, however, strongly opposes any “pacifist” approach in dealing with bats.
“Bats should be dealt with the same way rats are dealt with on our campus. They should be poisoned and trapped and killed, no excuses,” Zheng said. “Rabies is just too much of a risk.”
Rabies is a viral infection of the central nervous system that affects the brain and is almost always fatal. The incubation period for rabies is on average three to eight weeks, according to the American Humane Association.
Symptoms of rabies are flu-like at first and can progress to some of the following symptoms: pain and spasming in the muscles, pain in the the tendons, hallucinations, drooling, delusions and sometimes partial or progressive paralysis, according to the National Health Service.
The Center for Disease Control estimates that about 55,000 people die of rabies every year worldwide. However, most of these deaths stem from the bites of unvaccinated dogs in Africa and Asia.
“As long as people never handle bats and vaccinate their pets for rabies, there is no need to worry about getting rabies from bats.” Long said.
