How prevalent is rabies and is it always fatal?
Rabies is a virus affecting the central nervous system (CNS) that can be passed from animals to humans. Once contracted, if left untreated, rabies is almost always fatal.
The good news is that humans rarely contract the form of rabies we usually associate with raccoons, foxes, skunks and bats. In fact, there has been one fatality in the USA within the last 60 years associated with the raccoon strain of rabies, and it occurred in 2004. On the flip side, there are 2-3 human deaths per year in the USA, due to unrecognized exposure to bat rabies.
What is rabies?
Rabies, a virus affecting the CNS, is transmitted through the saliva of a warm blooded animal. We most often associate the condition with raccoons, foxes, skunks and bats, commonly referred to as the rabies vector species (RVS). Squirrels, rabbits and other small warm blooded mammals are rarely associated with the rabies virus because although they could interact with a rabid animal, they usually do not make it through the confrontation; therefore, the virus rarely takes hold in them. There may be other reasons why these mammals do not often present with rabies, but they are not known. Bats carry one form of the rabies virus which is different from the rabies virus that a raccoon, fox or skunk would carry – but any form of the rabies virus should be considered extremely dangerous.
If any warm blooded animal can have the rabies virus, how do you know
which wild animals to leave alone?
That is a trick question – because if you are not a wildlife rehabilitator or trained to handle wildlife, you should ALWAYS leave wild animals alone, unless they are truly orphaned or in distress!
However, to respond to that question scientifically, you should understand the life cycle of a zoonotic disease. A zoonotic disease or condition is one that is transmitted to humans from a lower form of vertebrate.
What is the life cycle of the rabies virus?
We begin with the disease agent (the rabies virus) which requires a natural habitat in order to survive. Often finding a home within a raccoon, fox, skunk or bat, the virus works its way to the CNS and then on to the animal’s brain, at which point the virus is ready to leave its initial host. This is when the virus is shed through the saliva of the infected animal and passed on to the new host.
What can you do to prevent rabies?
It is imperative that your pets are vaccinated against diseases, including the rabies virus. Ask your veterinarian about which vaccinations your pet needs.
If your pet is bitten by a raccoon or another RVS animal, be sure to use gloves when attending to the wound. Although you should know that the rabies virus
cannot live for long once exposed to the air, the rabies virus is transmitted via saliva and you may not know how much time has elapsed since your pet was
bitten – so you need to proceed with caution. Be sure to get a booster shot for
your pet right away from a veterinarian, even if your pet has been rabies vaccinated.
Secondly, referring to the life cycle of the rabies virus, specifically as to how the virus is transmitted, there are four important facts to take away:
- An animal can be infected with the rabies virus but unable to transmit it to a new host because it has not reached that animal’s CNS yet.
- Once the rabies virus has reached the CNS and is present in the animal’s brain, the animal can “shed” the rabies virus through its saliva, and it will soon die.
- There is no exact incubation period. The rabies virus could reach the CNS within days or within weeks of entering the body of the new host.
- If not treated, the rabies virus is fatal – and rabies can be prevented.
It is very important to respond accurately when you are asked whether anyone has come into contact with a potentially infected animal. The only way to know for sure whether an animal has the rabies virus is to examine the animal’s brain tissue for the presence of the virus – which will in turn affect the treatment regimen for anyone who had direct contact with that animal. If the potentially infected animal is no longer accessible, there are regulated processes in place to ensure proper treatment.
When we ask that you stay away and keep your children and pets away from wildlife – we are doing it for your safety and for the safety of the wildlife that will be euthanized, often unnecessarily, if you do not adhere to the proper protocol. Please admire our wildlife from a distance.
To learn more about the rabies virus, you can visit Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. To find a wildlife rehabilitator in your area, visit The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) website for a listing of CT state rehabbers.
Special thanks to the Connecticut Wildlife Rehabilitators Association (CWRA) for content included in this blog.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110131133323.htm "The notion that bats have high rates of rabies is not true," says Brandon Klug, a graduate student at the University of Calgary and the lead author of a paper published in the Journal of Wildlife Diseases." "This study is significant because it confirms that rabies rates for bats has been over-estimated. It's also the first time such a rigorous literature review has been completed on this topic," says co-author Dr. Robert Barclay..." Bats have been almost completely wiped out in the Northeast. About 6 MILLLION bats have been killed in many states by white-nose-syndrome. Respectfully, they don't need negative advertizing of a low probability risk you are promoting on top of going extinct - while the US and State governments do little to nothing to effectively help - to add to a negative image that might prevent help and funding against extinction. http://news.discovery.com/animals/bat-white-nose-disease-extinct.html "...causing such massive die-offs of bats that some species could become regionally extinct in the United States within just two decades, according to a paper by some of the nation's leading experts"
http://www.fws.gov/whitenosesyndrome/ http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_information/white-nose_syndrome/ List of bats on endangered species list - so far http://ecos.fws.gov/tess_public/SpeciesReport.do Bat, Allen's big-eared bat, Big brown Bat, big free-tailed Bat, Bulmer's fruit (=flying fox) Bat, bumblebee Bat, California leaf-nosed Bat, Desmarest's fig-eating Bat, Eastern small-footed bat, Florida bonneted Bat, gray Bat, Hawaiian hoary Bat, Indiana Bat, insular long-tongued Bat, lesser long-nosed Bat, little Mariana fruit Bat, Mariana fruit (=Mariana flying fox) Bat, Mexican long-nosed Bat, Mexican long-tongued Bat, occult little brown Bat, Ozark big-eared Bat, Pacific sheath-tailed Bat, Pacific sheath-tailed Bat, Pacific Townsend's big-eared Bat, Pagan Mariana flying fox Bat, pale Townsend's big-eared bat, Pallid bat, Pocketed free-tailed Bat, Rafinesque's big-eared Bat, Rodrigues fruit (=flying fox) Bat, Samoan fruit Bat, sheath-tailed bat, Silver-haired Bat, Singapore roundleaf horseshoe bat, Southern yellow Bat, spotted bat, Townsend's western big-eared bat, Townsend's western big-eared Bat, Virginia big-eared bat, Western red As a wildlife rehabilitator - what are you doing to try to save bats in the Northeast from extinction - letters to senators, education, local action, etc.? What suggestions do you have for the general public?
You are obviously an avid bat fan…excellent! We could definitely use more positive publicity for this mammal. In response to your questions: My blog does confirm that the rate of contracting bat rabies is very low – 2 -3 cases per year – although 2 – 3 too many - in the entire country IS very low. You are correct in re-emphasizing that fact. An important take away for readers is that rabies overall is a disease that few people encounter. In addition, what you may not know is that diseases such as rabies are often cyclical – and when the population of a species increases in numbers, nature’s way of handling it is sometimes through disease, resulting in survival of the fittest. Raccoons went through a period where rabies was rampant which drastically decreased the population. Bats experienced a similar scenario, and to your point, the bat population has been greatly affected by WNS. Regarding sourcing, you should know that every one of my blogs is researched by me and reviewed by subject matter experts. My statements regarding the rabies statistics are from the CT DEEP – I attend annual meetings for rabies vector species (RVS), and the fatality statistics I mentioned in my blog were disseminated at the CWRA meeting, April 2012.
Regarding your question about what is being done to preserve the bat species in our area – every blog I post refers readers to sources that can provide additional information. I encourage you to visit the CT DEEP site mentioned in my blog – they have a wealth of information. One informative piece from the CT DEEP is listed below. It was published last October…timely with Halloween – and the purpose was to refute certain myths about bats and to educate the public. http://www.ct.gov/deep/cwp/view.asp?A=4121&Q=489564 Another source that would provide excellent and accurate information by species is www.wildlifehotline.org. Finally, as an avid bat supporter, have you ever considered going through the program to become a wildlife rehabilitator yourself, if you are not already certified? I can only speak for myself, but I find it very rewarding. Judging from your passion for bats, perhaps you would as well. My specialty is rabbits, but I work with birds of prey, and other mammals (including RVS), as a CT state rehabilitator and a nature center volunteer.
The CT DEEP have only KILLED bats and have not helped then during this crisis. I would not recommend anyone to contact the CT DEEP. Right now - they have a mandate - if you find a bat in your house - they require it be KILLED FIRST then TESTED for Rabies LATER. 5 bats have been KILLED in New Canaan recently and THEN tested. I am enquiring as to how many actually had rabies after they tested the dead bodies. My becoming a wildlife rehabber will not put a dent in the WNS epidemic. Creating a CT DEEP that looks at helping wildlife from becoming extinct - rather than their traditional emphasis on Wildlife Control (killing) & Hunting would be a better suggestion. But then you work closely with them - so I doubt you will publicize this.
P.O. Box 1246 Weston, CT 06883 (203) 544-9913 wildlifeincrisis@snet.net
http://wildliferehabinfo.org/ContactList_MnPg.htm
The only fatalities due to bat rabies (which are extremely rare) are because humans are unknowingly bitten. If a bat is found within a home, the inhabitants of that home need to be protected.
Unfortunately, you are also correct regarding White-nose Syndrome (WNS), which will most likely wipe out much of our bat population - unless the cause and a cure can be found.