Naples's Best Bat Removal

Do All Bats Have Rabies?

Rabies is a scary illness that people try to avoid at all costs. Unfortunately, there are many myths that circulate regarding bats and rabies. Many people tend to worry that all bats carry rabies based on false information gathered from unreliable sources. Here is the truth about bats and rabies. 

All mammals can contract and carry rabies. It is possible, and some bats do carry rabies. However, most are not symptomatic. The number of bats that contract rabies each year is actually one half of one percent of the total population.

It doesn't seem so scary now, does it? There are typically only one or two human deaths annually in the United States that are the result of contracting rabies from a bat. In fact, you are statistically more likely to contract the plague than catch rabies from a bat.

Transmitting Rabies

The principal form of transmission is through a bite. Bats have tiny little teeth which do not always break the skin when they bite a human. Their small teeth can leave marks which aren't easily seen and can be superficial. 

However, most times people do know when they have been bitten by a bat. The majority of bat bites occur as a result of careless handling. Now, if you happen to wake up to a bat in your room then you should seek medical attention and have the bat tested. It is possible to be bitten in your sleep. 

Animal Transmission

Bats can transmit rabies to other animals, although it is rare. There have only been two documented cases of dogs contracting rabies from bat bites in a ten-year period. The numbers are similar for cats. It can happen but is not common.

Large numbers of carnivores gather each year to feed on the bat population at Bracken Cave in Texas. There have never been reports of a rise in the number of rabies infected animals or any rabies outbreaks to speak of as a result of this occurrence. 

Each year over one million bats gather in Austin, Texas and thousands of people gather to watch them. Some of the most densely populated areas of bats exist in Texas. There is no documented rise in the number of rabies cases as a result of this.

Unfortunately, the media and other uniformed people tend to sensationalize bats and their proliferation of rabies. They distort information and cause the public to over-react. While caution should be exercised and you should never attempt to handle a bat, you chances of contracting rabies from one are virtually non-existent.