A 65-year-old resident died of rabies after being exposed to a bat two months earlier, according to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). The state said there was no risk to the public from the recently deceased patient. Regarding safety precautions, the health department advised people who have come into physical contact with a bat or find a bat in the room with another person, the mammal should be captured and submitted for rabies testing.
This is crucial because a bat’s small bites cannot be easily noticed. “If left untreated, rabies is almost always fatal,” said the MDH. “Rabies treatment has proven to be nearly 100 percent effective at preventing the disease after an exposure, but it must be started before symptoms of rabies appear.
That is why health officials are stressing the importance of recognizing potential exposures to bats and taking appropriate actions in a timely manner.” People exposed to rabies are given an injection of rabies immune globulin, and four doses of rabies vaccine over a two-week period. The state veterinarian also advised people on getting their pets immunized against the viral infection.
Although rabies infection is “uncommon in humans,” 75 percent of Americans live in a community where raccoons, skunks, or foxes carry the deadly disease, said the CDC. There are about 4,000 animal rabies cases reported annually, with almost all cases occurring in bats, raccoons, skunks, and foxes. Rabid bats have been found in all U.
S. states,.