A Reminder About Bats And Lyssavirus

[Greytmate]

Isn't the rabies vaccine dangerous if you don't have rabies already? Or is that some urban myth I read somewhere? :laugh:

Yes its extremely dangerous. Not to the person having the vaccine, they are ok, but dangerous to the australian population as a whole if production of this vaccine is increased. In order to produce this vaccine, animals have to be kept infected in Australian labs.

[Rappie]

OT

Just a question for anyone who is a breeder on here or a vet nurse- have you been vaccinated for Q fever?

The cases of Q fever in vet clinic staff that was reported last year was at a practice reasonably local to us.

All the vets have already been vaccinated but our practice has now made it a policy that all other staff are also tested and vaccinated. We don't do a lot of breeding work but see enough whelping / queenings / pregnant speys for it to be a concern. If we happen to have un-vaccinated volunteers etc on the premises at the same time as a caesar or whatever they will be asked to leave the premises.

[Jumabaar]

OT

Just a question for anyone who is a breeder on here or a vet nurse- have you been vaccinated for Q fever?

The cases of Q fever in vet clinic staff that was reported last year was at a practice reasonably local to us.

All the vets have already been vaccinated but our practice has now made it a policy that all other staff are also tested and vaccinated. We don't do a lot of breeding work but see enough whelping / queenings / pregnant speys for it to be a concern. If we happen to have un-vaccinated volunteers etc on the premises at the same time as a caesar or whatever they will be asked to leave the premises.

I have some friends at the clinic. I find it interesting to see which zoonotic diseases get attention and which don't. I am glad your practice has set up a policy.

Although the Q fever vaccine was the most painful on ever! So perhaps is makes sense that people dont want to know about it.

Edited February 15, 2013 by Jumabaar

[sandgrubber]

Isn't the rabies vaccine dangerous if you don't have rabies already? Or is that some urban myth I read somewhere? :laugh:

Yes its extremely dangerous. Not to the person having the vaccine, they are ok, but dangerous to the australian population as a whole if production of this vaccine is increased. In order to produce this vaccine, animals have to be kept infected in Australian labs.

Why not import it? Effective killed virus formulations are available, cheap, and can be transported in refrigerated containers.

[corvus]

Rabies vaccination can be given as a preventative- for memory it wasnt even that painful

Rabies vaccination and immunoglobulins is given post exposure with a bat bite/scratch and the bat should be sent of for testing for Lyssavirus.

It's not a painful shot, but can have some weird side effects. A colleague of mine had one in the series of 3 and they decided not to give them the remaining 2 because of some strange side effects. Post-exposure shots are easy as if you've been vaccinated. I was bitten by a bat at work one time and just got another shot in the arm afterwards. The bat was not tested because they have to kill them and it was a threatened species! Most bats are reasonably docile, but when they bite it hurts. They have very sharp teeth. If you wear gloves when you handle one you should be fine, but if it's a small bat, it will be hard to know you are handling it safely. They are tiny and delicate, which is why I got bitten. I took the gloves off so I could handle it better.

I wouldn't say where it occurred either, because it would cause unnecessary paranoia. ABL is all over the country as far as anyone knows. It doesn't matter where it happened. Affected bats may be on the ground and suffering from paralysis, so easy to pick up. They are rarely aggressive and bitey like rabid animals are, but it can happen. I've seen video! Lots of bat people get bitten countless times and aren't vaccinated, or if they are, they don't get post-exposure shots. There is some contention about how common it is. It's more common in fruit bats and horseshoe bats, I believe, but it's been found in all species where it has been looked for.

[Alyosha]

What on earth was the boy doing to be bitten or scratched by a bat?

And why on earth cannot the public be told where it occurred? Why the secrecy?

Bats can be affected by Lyssavirus, not just carriers. When showing symptoms they are normally on the ground as they are acutely unwell. So people can be bitten trying to pick them up.

Around two months ago young fruit bats would have still been about and less than skilled at hanging onto mother or flying. So they too can be frequently grounded.

And not saying where it came from? To prevent panic? People heading out to try and kill bats? And therefore potentially more cases...

ABL has been detected in various species and locations across Australia. ANY bat injury needs medical treatment, no matter where it comes from.

A very sad story. I would've thought that any bite or scratch from a wild animal would at least warrant a tetanus shot - even if people didn't know about ABL? If medical attention was sought the child would have been treated and alright. Very sad and preventable.

I used to handle bats nearly daily as a wildlife carer (so have had rabies vaccine shots) and they are delightful creatures - large and small. Intelligent and sensitive, they remind me very much of dogs personality wise. They don't deserve to be maligned or mistreated by frightened people.

[sandgrubber]

Isn't the rabies vaccine dangerous if you don't have rabies already? Or is that some urban myth I read somewhere? :laugh:

Yes its extremely dangerous. Not to the person having the vaccine, they are ok, but dangerous to the australian population as a whole if production of this vaccine is increased. In order to produce this vaccine, animals have to be kept infected in Australian labs.

Killed virus vaccines can be imported. I can't see any danger in doing so.

[Kirislin]

I had an interesting little surprise this morning and this thread reminded me to be cautious. :D

I left my big pineapple tin that I use as a horse food dipper on the fence post last night. This morning I picked it up to use and to my surprise there was a tiny grey/brown fur lump in the bottom of it. I shook it and it just rolled around, I realised fairly quickly it was a bat but I thought it was dead. I assumed it must have fallen in but couldn't climb or fly out again and got chilled and died. I thought I might put the macro lens on the camera and take some photos of it later. As I tipped it into another container it started to move! I left it in that container which was more shallow and put it in the horse float so it was dark and sheltered. I've just been out and it's gone! I've put some bleach in both containers I handled it in, just in case it piddled in them. I probably wouldn't have thought to do that if not for this thread, so thankyou.

[*kirty*]

I just heard on the news that this little boy has died. RIP little one, thoughts with his family.

[Alyosha]

So very sad. A timely reminder to seek medical attention for any wild animal injury - bite or scratch.

[DakotaJ]

I am curious if anyone knows if this could be a problem.

We have many flying Foxes which eat fruit from the local trees and drop the pits on the street and sidewalks. My Golden dives at these nuts and if we can't get her to give them up she just chomps them up. We are as vigilant as possible but she is pretty fast at grabbing them. I worry that these nuts would be covered in Flying Fox saliva, could a dog contract on of the Flying Fox related diseases from these nuts, does anyone know ?

[j]

I am curious if anyone knows if this could be a problem.

We have many flying Foxes which eat fruit from the local trees and drop the pits on the street and sidewalks. My Golden dives at these nuts and if we can't get her to give them up she just chomps them up. We are as vigilant as possible but she is pretty fast at grabbing them. I worry that these nuts would be covered in Flying Fox saliva, could a dog contract on of the Flying Fox related diseases from these nuts, does anyone know ?

As far as I'm aware, there has been one incidence of a dog contracting Hendra Virus, and it was believed it was passed to the dog by the horse, rather than the bat.

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/environment/animals/dog-tests-positive-to-hendra-virus-20110726-1hy3p.html

http://www.daff.qld.gov.au/4790_20741.htm

Edited February 25, 2013 by j