PSA: rabies safety

Yeah, they're really cool animals, "Halloween butterflies" and all that, but...

A family friend will be getting her last round of injections next week. 
 

She had physical contact with a wild bat after Hurricane Milton, then released it. 

Their teeth are so small and sharp that a bite is imperceptible .

If there's any chance of physical contact, or a bat is found in a room with a sleeping person, a small child , or an adult with dementia that individual has to be vaccinated if the bat cannot be tested. 

How many shots is a "round of injections" these days ?

Thanks for the info

There was a young childs death reported a month or so ago in Ontario, I think.  Bat in the bedroom, no evidence of a bite...

californiamilleghia said:

How many shots is a "round of injections" these days ?

Thanks for the info

IIRC, it is four now. The first round was 6 different shots in large muscles, and then once a week after that. We had to get them a decade ago when we were woken up by a bat that we could not capture. 

I think the first set was 12 vials in four sites. 
 

if there is a known bite, then they inject in a circle around that location. She got an injection in each arm and each thigh.

So, this makes me torn about a plan I had to put up bat boxes toward the back of my property. I'm on a little over an acre, my next door neighbor has a in ground pool that has been gross for the last 8years at least and we live in a swampy area in general, so we struggle with mosquitoes. I wanted to put up bat boxes to try to knock down the population. 

On the converse side, I have kids aged 4 & 6.

Should I just go back to the plan to mortar launch shock tabs into the neighbors pool?

In reply to Apexcarver :

The big thing is to keep bats out of the house. They normally don't bother people, but in a house they will. We hired someone to seal off the house to bats, as we had them in our attic. 
 

And better for them to be out killing the deadliest creature on the planet- mosquitos. 

In reply to alfadriver :

I have seen bats flying around at dusk frequently, but not a single in the house incident in 8 years here.

A couple of years ago, I was bit by a stray dog while I was out of the country. . It was 4 shots of vaccine around the bite site spread out on days 0,3,7, and 14. I got two doses of immunoglobulin too, but I don't know if that's standard practice in the US or not. Fun fact, the CDC calls me every couple of years to verify that I'm still asymptomatic and gather demographic information. 

My brother went through shots this time last year. If I remember right he was running with my nephew in a jogging stroller. Bat flew into his leg that he kicked into the bottom back of stroller. Then he fished it out by hand and threw it once he realized what it was. If he had spiked it and sent the bats corpse off to test he might have avoided the shots but ended up going through the whole series and being all right. 

Apexcarver said:

So, this makes me torn about a plan I had to put up bat boxes toward the back of my property. I'm on a little over an acre, my next door neighbor has a in ground pool that has been gross for the last 8years at least and we live in a swampy area in general, so we struggle with mosquitoes. I wanted to put up bat boxes to try to knock down the population. 

On the converse side, I have kids aged 4 & 6.

Should I just go back to the plan to mortar launch shock tabs into the neighbors pool?

Get a cup of olive oil into the water.  The oil will float to the top, completely cover it, and kill any bugs that try to go in or out.

Apexcarver said:

So, this makes me torn about a plan I had to put up bat boxes toward the back of my property. I'm on a little over an acre, my next door neighbor has a in ground pool that has been gross for the last 8years at least and we live in a swampy area in general, so we struggle with mosquitoes. I wanted to put up bat boxes to try to knock down the population. 

On the converse side, I have kids aged 4 & 6.

Should I just go back to the plan to mortar launch shock tabs into the neighbors pool?

Oh, I would definitely still put up the bat houses if it were me. I'm more concerned about mosquitoes as a vector.

40 or so years ago I was bitten by a dog, my mom took me to the ER and because the dog couldn't be located I had to get the shots. Back then it was 30 shots. Stupid dog. 

In reply to Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) :

Thank you. 
 

The fire department used to get called in for bat removal, but we've stopped doing that within the past five years or so.  I don't miss it. 

I know that there isn't a reason to get the vaccine unless you've been bit (or potentially bit) by something, or work in a high risk job, but stories of rabies make me want to do it preemptively. I won't, but still want to. 
 

I read a terrible story, someone passed away from rabies, but the circumstances were such that they had no reason to and therefore didn't suspect it whatsoever. Then the 4 people that got organs from this person all perished as well, though one of the 4 passed away during the surgery or complications from it. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa043018