nope, of course not.Originally Posted by trailmercury
I came across this article that may be of interest:
https://www.thebillfold.com/2012/11/...g-from-rabies/
Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
Note to self: If I ever encounter a bat, to any degree at all, I will do my dead level best to capture it somehow for testing. Could have saved a ton of time and pain and money and...
" Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt. "
I don’t understand this at all.
If hikers who stayed at the shelter the night of June 7th thru June 8th are considered to be at risk of contracting rabies, what of those hikers who stayed there the night of June 6th?
And June 5th?
And June 4th?
And June 3rd?
And June 2nd?
...
presumably they feel confident that bat wasnt there june 5th somehow.
i think an even better question this brings to mind- how many countless times do you think a hiker staying in a shelter went "oh hey, theres a bat hanging in the corner?" and nothing was thought of that info and no one beyond the 3 or 4 or however many people were in the shelter ever heard anything about it.
to say nothing of the possibility one went unseen. i have seen some extremely small bats while on cave tours and things of that nature. if i got to a shelter at dusk after a long and tiring day i wouldnt see one hanging in the corner of the shelter.
My dog has been vaccinated for rabies.This may be the dumbest question ever asked on WB but why don't they vaccinate people for it?I realize it is extremely rare in humans but for those who spend time in the woods sleeping in shelters(a natural bat habitat when you think about it) it might make sense.
1) Not a dumb question at all.
2) I’ve never gotten a good answer to that question. The closest to a satisfactory explanation I’ve seen was along the lines of the human vaccine being very expensive, largely because the lack of demand means it’s made in smaller quantities relative to more common vaccines.
3) The dumbest question ever asked on WB is arguably “Do I need to bearbag my false teeth at night.”
Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
i'm mostly making this up but i imagine that it may have something to do with the same reason why dogs need to get it every 3 years.
i think its entirely possible that in humans it might only be good for 6 months or something.
There apparently is a pre-exposure rabies vaccine. Not cheap, needs repeating every few years, and is only recommended for people with high exposure risk (vets, animal handlers, etc.)
http://news.vin.com/VINNews.aspx?articleId=17985
I also read somewhere that 1 in 100 bats have rabies.
Basic answer is test your blood every 2 years to see what level of rabies antibody you have and get a booster when that level drops. I had somewhere around 14 or more rabies shots during my career as a veterinarian both pre and post exposure. When the recommendation to test your titer (antibody levels) to determine whether you needed a booster came out I had my titer checked every year (easier to remember to do than every other year) . My antibody levels stayed high enough that I need not need a booster the last 8 or 9 years of my career.
Here are some links for pre-exposure vaccination:
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/i...eexposure.html
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/vis...ts/rabies.html
If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything.
On a related note...
https://m.stamfordadvocate.com/scien...o-13052489.php
Woman rescues baby raccoon, inadvertently exposes 20 friends to rabies
Frankly, we never found raccoons — those masked bandits that try to break into our garbage bins on nights before collection — that endearing.
Now baby raccoons — they are kind of cute. But you should never handle one or bring one home, not even if it appears to have been abandoned by its mother.
A Colorado woman learned that lesson the hard way.
She found what she thought was an orphaned raccoon on her property in Weld County north of Denver and brought it into her house, according to the Greeley Tribune. Soon her friends found out, and suddenly everyone wanted to see the baby. Eventually 20 friends dropped over to gawk at the little critter.
MORE: Bat found in Concord park tests positive for rabies
Unfortunately, the raccoon tested positive for rabies on Monday. Now the woman and her 20 pals must all get "post-exposure prophylaxis" against the disease which, left untreated, can be fatal.
Typically, rabies is passed from animals to humans through bites, but it's possible to contract it if the animal's saliva touches a wound or even a small scratch on a person.
None of the 21 people exposed has come down with the disease yet. A vaccination is very effective in treating rabies if the vaccine is administered before symptoms appear.
According to the Tribune, the county Department of Public Health and Environment learned about the case from an animal shelter the woman had contacted in the hope that it could take the animal. The shelter declined and called the the public health department, which in turn asked the woman if they could test it for rabies.
Wildlife authorities say you should never touch or get too close to a wild animal even if appears to be an orphaned baby. Often the parents are nearby, but they might not return to the infant if humans are nearby.
Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
Got a good laugh out of this one!
Humans with a elevated risk of contracting rabies should be and do get vaccinated, ie Animal control worker's ect. The risk of rabies in the general population is miniscule. The risk of person to person transmission of rabies is nil.
Influenza is a far deadlier disease in US yet many Americans still decide against getting Influenza vaccine. That is far scarier than a bat.
never got a flu shot, no plans to. sorry if that scares you. the flu kills more people because it is far more prevalent. it is hardly anywhere as lethal as rabies. dont be so dramatic.
the guidelines this thread began with are illustrative- if you woke up to find yourself sleeping in a room with someone who had a sniffle and a fever, maybe had vomited, would you seek medical attention? would anyone seriously advise you to do so?
if you shake hands with someone who has the flu, you consider that a life threatening medical situation?
sorry, i'm more (more being an extremely relative word) of the bat.
Your perceived risk does not match reality. No drama
its not my perception.
the CDC advises anyone who comes into physical contact with a bat that they have no captured for testing to undergo post exposure treatment for rabies.
is there such medical advice given to people who may have encountered someone who might have the flu?
Well, yes they do. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/prevent/index.html
The question was asked, "Why don't they vaccinate people?" I answered the question.
tdoci, your risk of death in the next year from influenza in the next 12 month far, far exceeds your risk of death from rabies. It is OK to unbunch your undies now.
The 1918 swine flu epidemic killed an estimated 20 to 50 million people worldwide, and an estimated 675,000, out of a population of 103million, in the US. I’ll continue to get a flu shot every year.
In the 2017-2018 flu season 4000 people a week were dying from influenza in the US, accounting for one in ten deaths in the country at its peak. I’m young, strong and healthy, so I could likely fight it off, but I’ll continue to get the vaccine bcause I understand both the concept of herd immunity as well as that of basic social responsibility.
Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
"Spanish Flu" that time.
And I get the current flu shot every year. My career in education got me in the habit.
Last edited by Feral Bill; 07-07-2018 at 01:06.
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