Health officials in British Columbia are urging anyone who touched an injured bat at White Pine Beach to seek medical attention immediately. Health officials were informed of an incident where a group of nine people were seen handling an injured bat on a floating dock on the beach.
Bats lick themselves and therefore can spread rabies simply from handling them. Up to 13 percent of bats in BC are infected with rabies.
The Fraser Health unit is urging anyone who touched the bat to go to the nearest emergency department and be assessed for possible rabies exposure. "In British Columbia, bats are the only natural reservoir of rabies. While the prevalence of rabies among bats is low, the health risks of rabies are severe," Fraser Health said in a statement. "Fortunately, rabies is vaccine preventable. It is important to seek care as soon as possible after being exposed for prevention treatment to be effective."
Rabies enters the body by any opening including cuts and scratches and eventually works its way to the spine and the brain and attacks the nervous system. Two years ago 21-year-old BC resident Nick Major died after a rabies infected bat flew into his hands.
"The thing with bats is their teeth are very small and their bite marks can be microscopic, and you might not even notice them," Dr. Bonnie Henry, BC’s provincial health officer, said in 2019. "Bats also lick themselves and the rabies virus has been found on the outside of their body, so if a bat brushes against you the virus can be transmitted through a mucus membrane, via your eyes or mouth."
Major died six weeks after his exposure to the virus. Major was the first death from rabies in BC since 2003. No infections have been reported from the incident at White Pine Beach on Saturday so far.
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