According to an email from the city of San Marcos, a bat tested positive for rabies after it flew into a person’s hair on Oct. 14 in a residential neighborhood on Gibraltar Drive.
“The individual exposed to the bat was notified of the positive result and is seeking post-exposure treatment to prevent rabies,” the email stated.
The Department of State Health Services confirmed the bat was infected with the rabies virus on Oct. 15. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the rabies virus is a treatable, but potentially fatal, virus transmitted to humans and pets through bites or scratches from infected animals.
“Most cases of rabies in Texas and in the U.S. really are primarily animal-born. Any warm blooded mammal can transmit rabies, and that includes bats,” Rodney E. Rohde, a college of health professions professor and the chair for Texas State’s medical laboratory science program, said. “Over the past 30-40 years, most human deaths from rabies have been from bat exposures.”
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one of the best ways to prevent the spread of rabies is to stay away from wild animals. Rohde agreed and said people should call their city’s or county’s animal control department instead of attempting to help a wild animal.
“Anyone that’s seeing a wild animal, whether it’s a four-legged animal like a skunk or a fox or a bobcat, even a feral cat or dog that you don’t really know who it belongs to, you should really take care not to interact with those animals,” Rohde said.
According to Rohde, someone who is bitten or scratched by a mammal should immediately seek medical treatment. He said once symptoms of rabies present themselves, the disease is nearly 100% fatal.
According to the CDC, rabies treatment in humans consists of washing the wound, a human rabies immune globulin (HRIG) injection into the wound and a series of four vaccines.
“One of the things we often say in our field is [rabies is] 100% preventable, it’s also 100% fatal if symptoms show up,” Rohde said. “You need to be talking to someone to consider if you need [the rabies] vaccine or not.”
Symptoms typically start 14 days to a month after infection, Rohde said. Symptoms of rabies include: Fatigue, flu-like symptoms, migraines, jaw pain, confusion, hydrophobia or the fear of water, catatonic states and ultimately organ failure.
While an infected bat was found in San Marcos, Rohde said it is unlikely the entire colony of bats is infected, but many in the colony could be infected.
“Any contact with a bat should be immediately reported to Animal Protection at 512-805-2655 so that the bat can be tested for rabies and medical treatment can be rendered as soon as possible, if necessary” a city of San Marcos press release stated. “Any bats that are found on the ground or in a dwelling should also be reported.”
