bulboustadpole t1_ja6rkqg wrote on February 27, 2023 at 6:46 AM

Reply to comment by nhluhr in I found a bat in my pool. He’s very much alive. I set him in the sun to dry out away from my dog by Handicapreader

Here we go again with the rabies fear mongering.

In the United States 5 people died of rabies in 2021. That makes it one of the rarest if not the rarest causes of deaths out of literally everything.

ACER719x t1_ja6yci2 wrote on February 27, 2023 at 8:15 AM

Again, because rabies vaccine is often administered in these situations hence why our outcomes are better when compared to less fortunate countries such as India where many are in poverty and can’t afford proper treatment.

bulboustadpole t1_ja70n6w wrote on February 27, 2023 at 8:48 AM

I would love to see some numbers on how many rabies vaccines are administered in the US. My guess is not as much as you would think.

Also this misses the point.

>The chances that bat doesn't have rabies are not good. You REALLY need to get the bat tested and potentially begin the rabies vaccine regimen.

And you know this how? What evidence were you able to gather from a photo of a bat that makes you think it likely has rabies?

An informed person would likely go to get a rabies vaccine but your average person may not. By your logic every person who is near a bat or touched one needs to get immediate vaccinations yet most people do not and the deaths don't match up.

Unless you are actually bitten by an animal such as a bat or another animal that's known to carry rabies you really don't need to get the series of vaccines.

India has higher amounts of rabies and deaths because they don't vaccinate their dogs. Nearly all rabies cases in India are from dogs.

KillstardoAbominate t1_ja8qdlw wrote on February 27, 2023 at 5:59 PM

> What evidence were you able to gather from a photo of a bat that makes you think it likely has rabies? > >

Simply the fact that it exists and it's a fucking bat. Bats are among the most common animals to have and/or spread rabies. It's pretty fucking simple. If you handle a bat you should probably get the rabies vaccine.

https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/animals/bats/index.html

Edit to add:

>I would love to see some numbers on how many rabies vaccines are administered in the US. My guess is not as much as you would think.

According to the CDC, "only" 30,000 - 60,000 people per year receive rabies vaccines for postexposure.

https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/location/usa/surveillance/human_rabies.html

Also, notice in the list of rabies cases, 13 of the 25 were from bats and how some of them occurred without a known bite.