ANIMAL CONTROL – AFTER HOURS BAT COLLECTION (7-10-10)

On a March evening, a resident’s dogs were found licking a bat which was alive on the ground. The family was unable to reach BARC after normal business hours and further efforts to have the bat tested for rabies, led to the information provided below:

Animals and humans cannot feel a bat bite so your pets will need rabies booster shots. You should capture the bat, if at all possible, without coming into contact with it. Once a bat is on the ground, it has no upward mobility and it must crawl up a tree, house, etc. in order to become airborne. Therefore, the easiest way to capture a bat on the ground is to place an overturned bucket over it. Call Animal Control during normal business hours. After business hours, call the HPD non-emergency phone line at 713-884-3131 and ask to speak with the animal control officer on duty. HPD has two officers specifically assigned to animal control.

The family was told to keep the bat alive or, alternatively, to refrigerate the bat. The brain tissue must be viable when testing for rabies. NOTE: A freezer will kill brain tissue.

They also learned that our neighborhood is in a ‘fly zone’ as migrating bats travel to the bat caves in San Antonio.

Barker’s Landing Bat Report (3-25-09)

There have been several reports of recent bat activity in the neighborhood; bats entering homes and found in pools.

One Barker’s Landing family trapped a live bat found inside their home last week. After having the bat picked up by BARC (Bureau of Animal Care), and some diligent follow up calls to the agency, they received confirmation that the bat tested positive for the rabies virus.

Procuring the necessary prescriptions and medication proved to be a complex endeavor and their regular physician did not wish to handle the injections. The Texas Department of State Health Services and the Infectious Disease Center referred an internal medicine specialist that would administer the doses and they are now being treated with the 28 day series of vaccinations.

After working through BARC to report the initial contact with a bat, and test results are reported being positive for rabies, the next step is to contact The Texas Department of State Health Services and your doctor. The “Bat Bite Case” extension of the agency handles all bat contact reports and Rabies Risk Assessment will be performed to determine the risk of exposure. Contact with bats is considered high risk and vaccine will likely be approved. The Texas Department of State Health Services (713-767-3300) located at 5425 Polk, maintains limited stock of the rabies vaccine and immunoglobulin.

The rabies virus is spread through the saliva of a rabid animal, usually because a rabid animal bites or scratches another person or animal. The virus may also get into the body through open cuts or wounds, or through the eyes, nose, or mouth. Bats can be dangerous carriers of rabies because their bite or scratch may be too small to notice. A bat’s teeth and claws are so small that a bite may not bleed or even hurt. In fact, people sleeping in the same room where a bat is found, or children who have been alone in a room with a bat, should see a doctor. Rabies is regarded as 100% fatal if not treated before symptoms begin to show.

The ultimate decision to take the vaccine is between doctor and patient and a prescription must be presented to get the medication. The Texas Department of State Health Services can either send the medication to the physician’s office or the patient may arrange to pick it up at the Polk location. Health Services also advises contacting in advance to verify adequate vaccine inventory. If the stock at the Texas Department of Health Services is low or the risk to patient is not evaluated as high but the physician still wants the patient to have the vaccine, it may be purchased directly from a drug manufacturer. The physician can generally get the medication within 24 hours. It is recommended that treatment begin within 72 hours of an actual bite.

Conversations with the City of Houston Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care (BARC) yield the guidelines listed below:

1. Bats are an indigenous species and are protected by State laws; they actually perform a service in that they are a major factor in controlling mosquitoes in neighborhoods. (The mosquitoes carry many more diseases than bats.)
2. Bats do have rabies present in their population and it is spread to others as they live in colonies, through transfer of bodily fluids – grooming, colony contact, mating, etc.
3. Any abnormal bat activity – bats in the home, bats dead or sick on the ground – should be reported to BARC immediately – 713-229-7300.
4. Never handle a bat, especially with bare hands. Use thick gloves, tongs, or a shovel to remove a dead bat, or call in bat-removal experts. Don’t crush the bat with a tennis racquet or other object. If possible, cover the bat with a box, trash can or other enclosure and call BARC. The bat can be kept in refrigeration to slow decomposition but do not freeze it.
5. BARC will collect each downed animal and if possible, test for rabies.
6. If you have contact with a downed bat, you should wash your hands immediately. If you are bitten or scratched, wash the wound with hot water and soap for ten minutes and call the doctor immediately.
7. If contact has occurred and the bat cannot be tested, you may be assessed and advised to undergo treatment.
8. Keep pets away from any downed bat as they may be infected and touching a pet that has had contact with an infected animal, is a possible route for rabies transmission.
9. Keep your pets regularly vaccinated to avoid this possible exposure and avoid contact with non-vaccinated pets in your neighborhood.
10. Actual incidence of bat rabies and transmission to humans is extremely low but these precautions are necessary because the disease is fatal without treatment. There is no cure for rabies once symptoms have begun to show. The vaccine is administered and is fully effective if administered prior to the onset of symptoms.

It is also suggested to keep bats out of the house or other buildings by closing or covering the attic or other dark sheltered areas.

Some residents have had success in relocating nests by employing bat exclusion devices offered by pest control specialists.