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Rabies is a deadly disease. In the past decade, there were 32 reported cases of rabies in the U.S. All but six of people died. In nearly three-quarters of the cases, the rabies was due to a bat bite.
According to Gerald Mandell, M.D., chief of the division of infectious diseases at the University of Virginia, "Bats are our number one problem for rabies now."
If your child is bitten or even possibly bitten by a bat, immediate treatment is required. Immediately wash the wound with soap and water. Then get your child to the nearest emergency room.
The rabies immunoglobulin (a substance that provides short term protection) should be applied to the wound. Then the rabies vaccine series should be started.
The signs and symptoms of rabies may take weeks to develop. The symptoms include difficulty swallowing, increased saliva productions ("foaming at the mouth"), agitation, muscle twitching and tremors, avoidance of water, joint pain, and hallucinations.
Most of the bats that caused the rabies lived in the victims' houses, usually in the attic.
Bats can be beneficial as they eat millions of insects. But they can be deadly if rabid.
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