The following arrived in my email box this morning from Public Health. Steer clear of bats. Okay. Gotcha. They carry rabies...but I avoid them anyway. The press release mentions a couple who found a bat in their home, where I'm sure they thought they were steering clear rodents with wings.Reciprocal advice to bats: steer clear of people--they will kill you and send you and send your carcass for testing. Stay in your bat place. Please.
Yuck.
Steer clear of bats – they can carry rabies
KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON - Bats in King County can have rabies, as a local couple found out recently when a bat they found in their house tested positive for rabies. Because they weren’t sure whether the bat had scratched or bitten them while they were sleeping, they received post-exposure treatment, which is 100% effective if given promptly. Without treatment, rabies is almost always fatal once symptoms begin. Since the beginning of 2008 in King County, 22 people have been treated for exposure to potentially rabid bats and two of the bats that were tested were found to be rabid.
» View full press release.Image: http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/living/graphics/t_bat.jpg
