Are you planning to do some spring cleaning around the house? Maybe you are heading to the great outdoors to open the cabin? It’s important to know that activities like these can result in contact with bats, the primary carrier of the rabies virus in B.C.
Bats can fly into poorly sealed cabins and homes, or roost in attic spaces. Between four and eight per cent of the bats that are tested after coming into contact with people are found to have the rabies virus.
“If you come into contact with live or dead bats it is very important to avoid touching them,” said Jennifer Jeyes, Communicable Disease Specialist with Interior Health. “And parents should remind their children not to play with or touch bats.”
Last year, 24 people in the region were treated for potential exposure to rabies. Treatment, involving a two week long period of vaccinations, is most effective when administered as soon as possible after exposure. Without treatment to prevent its onset, rabies is almost always fatal.
Interior Health advises that all contact with bats should be taken seriously.
“Anyone who has handled a bat should contact their Public Health Unit or their physician right away,” said Jeyes. ”Because bats have tiny sharp teeth and claws their scratches or bites are not always visible and in some cases it can take weeks or even months for symptoms to appear. Early treatment is essential to prevent the disease from progressing – it’s very important to get checked out as soon as possible.”
Interior Health offers these tips to protect yourself:
Prevention:
- Do not touch live or dead bats.
- Make your home or cabin “bat proof”. Keep doors and windows closed, make sure window screens don’t have any holes and keep the attic area free of bats by keeping all vents properly screened and by closing off other openings.
- If you find a live bat in a room of your home, open the window and close interior doors until the bat leaves.
- Seek professional bat-control advice (from a pest control or wildlife specialist) if your work place or home is inhabited by bats.
- Avoid locations or activities where bats are likely to be found (e.g. caves).
- If you have a pet dog, cat or ferret, make sure they are vaccinated regularly against rabies. Pets that were born and raised in B.C. pose a very low risk of transmitting rabies to humans; however, vaccinating your pets will protect them from rabies.
If you have been bitten or scratched:
- Thoroughly wash the wounds with soap and water.
- Contact your local Public Health Unit or family doctor immediately.
- Call a wildlife or pest control company to capture the bat. If trying to capture the bat yourself avoid contact by wearing leather gloves, a hat, long sleeves and pants.
- Safely contain the bat in a secure covered container to prevent others from being exposed. Keep the bat in a safe location until Public Health can arrange to pick it up and test it for rabies.
When traveling abroad:
- Be aware of the risk of rabies in the country you are visiting.
- If you were bitten by an animal and started on the rabies vaccine, keep all documentation you were provided. It will need to be reviewed by Public Health when you return home.
- Note the type of clinic or hospital you visited. This information will be used by Public Health to determine if you received the same standard of protection that you would have received at home.
For more information:
See HealthLink BC File #07 at http://www.healthlinkbc.ca/healthfiles/hfile07.stm
