The Wahkiakum County Eagle - Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891

“Don’t touch the bats!” That is the message from Health and Human Services Director Judy Bright.

This year, there have been three reports of rabid bats in Wahkiakum County--one on Puget Island, one in Cathlamet, and one on the Westend.

There has been at least one confirmed bite of a child, who was with four other children at the time, on the Westend. All five children received prophylaxis medication, Bright said.

The only way to know if a bat is rabid is to capture it and send it off to the state lab for testing. The best way to capture a bat is to put on leather gloves and have a small box or a coffee can ready.

Bright said to approach the bat carefully, place the coffee can or box over the bat, slide a piece of cardboard over it, seal it up and bring it into the health department. Be sure to wear leather gloves as a bat's teeth cannot penetrate through rubber or other glove materials, she added.

It isn’t obvious when a person has been bitten. Health officials say that if a person has had contact, perhaps the bat hit the arm, even though there aren’t any direct signs of a bite, vaccination is still recommended.

The vaccination is a series of six shots. The first is an immune globulin, specific to rabies which will boost the immune system and the second is a series of five shots over a 28 day period. The shots can easily be given in the arm, not in the stomach as in the past.

“It really isn’t as big of an ordeal that it used to be,” Bright said.

If a bite goes untreated, it could result in rabies, which is deadly. Symptoms could appear anywhere within 30 to 90 days after a bite. Rabies affects the brain and the spinal cord. “It’s a virus and it attacks the neurological part of the person.”

Symptoms are flu-like with fever, headache, sore throat and a tired feeling. As the virus develops within the brain, the person will become nervous, confused and upset. Other symptoms include pain or a tingling at the bite site.

People may begin to hallucinate, develop hydrophobia, which is the fear of water, and have problems swallowing. Eventually, they will develop paralysis, slip into a coma and die.

“It’s not a pleasant disease,” Bright said.

The affect on animals is very much the same as humans. The foaming of the mouth in animals is because the animal is unable to swallow. The symptoms are the same because the same nerves are affected.

Right now, the medicine is in a very short supply, Bright said. Because the vaccination is being used at a higher rate in the country, the manufacturer has been unable to keep up with demand.

Because of the limited supply, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) wanted to make sure the antidote was properly distributed.

“In order for the health care provider to get the vaccine, they have to call the health department; we determine it is an appropriate use of the vaccine; we then give them a password that they need to order the vaccine from the manufacturer," she said. "Without the password they cannot get the vaccine.”

Since the beginning of summer, five bats have been tested for rabies. Of those, three were positive and two were negative.

“That is an unusual number,” Bright explained, “but also keep in mind that the bats we test are the ones that are behaving strangely.”

The bats that go out during the day are unusual, are found on the lawn or bats that are behaving erratically are the bats that are most likely brought in by people for testing.

The best way to avoid a bite is to avoid contact with a bat.

“You don’t want children to be handling bats, or any other animal they don’t know anything about, and you want to be sure your pets are vaccinated. It’s easy to let those vaccinations lapse," she said.

For dogs and cats, the first vaccination is good for one year. After that, the vaccination is good for three years. Bright said she spoke with a vet who told her the immunity may last a bit longer, but it is unknown.

Bat-proofing the home is relatively easy. “Be sure you have screens on all of your windows,” Bright said.

“Do everything you can to make sure that bat stays out of your home.”

The best time to bat-proof is fall and winter when there is less likelihood of one being in the home.

“Check your home for any holes in the rafters or anything like that," she said. "Chimney caps, if you have a chimney, they can come down the chimney.”

For more information on bats, go to www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/rabies.