by the San Juan County Health Department

World Rabies Day is on Sept. 28, a global health observance that seeks to raise awareness about rabies and enhance prevention and control efforts.

What is rabies? It is an infectious viral disease that affects the nervous system of humans and other mammals. People get rabies from the bite of an animal with rabies. Any wild mammal, like a raccoon, skunk, fox, coyote, or bat, can have rabies and transmit it to people. Because rabies is a fatal disease, the goal of public health is, first, to prevent human exposure to rabies by education and, second, to prevent the disease by anti-rabies treatment if exposure occurs.

Most of the recent human rabies cases have been caused by rabies virus from bats. Other wild animals such as raccoons, skunks, foxes and coyotes can also be infected with  the rabies virus and can spread the disease to humans. One of the best ways to protect yourself and your family is to avoid contact with wild animals. Do not feed or handle  them, even if they seem friendly and tame.  Don’t pick up or touch dead animals, as the rabies virus could be in their saliva or nervous tissue. Because house pets such as cats and dogs are often outdoors, be sure to get them vaccinated against rabies.

While most wild animals are found primarily outdoors, bats can sometimes fly into buildings. If you see a bat in your home, confine the bat to a room by closing all doors and windows leading out of the room except those to the outside. The bat will most likely leave. If it doesn’t, put leather gloves on, approach the bat slowly and cautiously, and when it lands, place a box or coffee can over it. Slide a piece of cardboard under the container to trap the bat inside. Tape the cardboard to the container securely. Then contact the health department for further instructions.

Bats play key roles in eating insects, including agricultural pests. They also disperse seeds and pollinate plants in rain forests.  Most bats do not have rabies, but those that do exhibit unusual behavior. They are usually in places where bats are not usually seen (in a room in your home or on the lawn), or  they are active by day, or they are unable to fly well. If you see a bat exhibiting this behavior, don’t handle it. If you do get bitten by a bat, wash the area vigorously with soap and water and get medical advice immediately.

Their teeth are tiny and leave marks that are not easily seen.  Because of this, there are situations in which you should seek medical advice even in the absence of an obvious bite wound.  For example, if you awaken and find a bat in your room, see a bat in the room of an unattended child, or see a bat near a mentally impaired or intoxicated person, you should seek medical advice in these instances.

Rabid bats have been found in almost every county in Washington. In 2012, a total of nine rabid bats were identified in Washington, one each in Chelan, Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Island, King, Skagit, Snohomish, Wahkiakum, and Whatcom Counties.

“One in 10 bats that come in contact with people has rabies,” said Dr. Frank James, SJC health officer about bat statistics nation-wide. “Also, over 90 percent of domestically acquired rabies cases reported in the U.S. since 1995 have been linked to bats. It’s important that people know the possible risks for rabies from bat exposures.”

Call us at 378-4474 for advice about rabies exposure. For more, www.cdc.gov/rabies/bats/education/index.html.

(Editor’s note: There has never been a confirmed case of rabies in a human in San Juan County. According to the Washington Department of Health there have been two cases of human rabies in the state during the last 20 years. In 1995, a four-year-old child died of rabies four weeks after a bat was found in her bedroom; and in 1997, a 64-year-old man was diagnosed with rabies.)