Table of Contents
What do you do if you accidentally touch a bat?
If you are bitten by a bat — or if infectious material (such as saliva or brain material if it is killed) from a bat gets into your eyes, nose, mouth, or a wound — wash the affected area thoroughly with soap and water and get medical advice immediately.
How likely am I to get rabies from a bat?
Bats can have rabies, but it is extremely rare for that to impact humans. The chance of getting rabies from a bat is very small — the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there are one or two cases a year in the U.S. But bats are the most common source of human rabies in the United States.
Can you get rabies from the air?
It’s transmitted through the saliva a few days before death when the animal “sheds” the virus. Rabies is not transmitted through the blood, urine or feces of an infected animal, nor is it spread airborne through the open environment. Because it affects the nervous system, most rabid animals behave abnormally.
Would you know if a bat landed on you?
That’s most likely because bats have very small teeth and produce a bite that doesn’t hurt the way a larger animal’s would, so it’s possible that they might not even wake their victim. They also hardly leave a mark, making it difficult to know you were ever bitten.
Should you get the rabies vaccine if you’ve been bitten by a bat?
Health officials uniformly recommend you get the rabies vaccine if you have been bitten. But they’re not in agreement on whether to get shots if you might have been bitten because you were merely exposed in a bat-in-the-bedroom scenario.
Can you get rabies from seeing a bat in your attic?
People can t get rabies just from seeing a bat in an attic, in a cave, at summer camp, or from a distance while it is flying. In addition, people can t get rabies from having contact with bat guano (feces), blood, or urine, or from touching a bat on its fur.
What should I do if I get bit by a bat?
If you are bitten by a bat-or if infectious material (such as saliva or brain material if it is killed) from a bat gets into your eyes, nose, mouth, or a wound-wash the affected area thoroughly with soap and water and get medical advice immediately.
What happens if you touch a bat in Seattle?
If you touch the bat (or think you or your pet or child could have touched the bat), call Public Health immediately at 206-296-4774. Anyone who touched or had contact with the bat or its saliva could be at risk of getting rabies, which is almost always fatal once symptoms begin.