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Sept. 16, 2000 BY MATT GLECKMAN A 29-year-old woman will have to face a series of vaccinations after she was bitten by a rabid bat outside of her home on County Road J in McElmo Canyon Saturday evening. Diana Fahrion, sanitarian for Montezuma and Dolores counties, said that the woman, whose name she would not release, was outside her home just at sunset Saturday evening when a bat began chasing after her. "She couldn’t get away and the bat landed on her arm, then crawled up into her shirt and bit her," Fahrion said. Fahrion said that the woman was able to kill the bat and deliver it to the Montezuma County Health Department on Monday. At the health department, the bat, which according to Fahrion was a young one born this year, tested positive for rabies. The sanitarian warned that if a person is bitten or has any kind of physical contact with a bat, he or she should seek treatment immediately. "Bats have extremely small sharp teeth that won’t leave a mark if they bite you. If you wake up and find a bat in your room you should assume that you have been bitten and seek treatment," she said, adding that people should be on the lookout for bats, or any animal acting in a peculiar manner. Fahrion added that pets that are seen near a grounded bat or that have a bat in their mouths should be brought to a veterinarian right away. "If your pet does not get treatment, they can be impounded for up to six months," said Fahrion. Fahrion also advised that people should never attempt to touch or trap a bat themselves. "Call a control officer. They are trained and have the equipment needed to trap bats," she said. According to a brochure from the Colorado Division of Wildlife, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the Colorado Bat Society, 15.2 percent of the bats tested in Colorado since 1977 have had rabies. According to the brochure, rabies affects the central nervous system of mammals, causing a fatal inflammation of the brain and spinal cord. The virus is shed in the saliva of an infected animal and is transmitted mainly through bites. However, the disease can also be passed along through the introduction of the saliva into open wounds, cuts or mucous membranes. The period between the time of exposure to the first symptoms varies from a few weeks to several months. The brochure states that rabies shots aren’t nearly as traumatic as in the past. "Today, fewer shots are required, and they are administered in the arm or buttocks, rather than the stomach," the brochure says. Fahrion said this was the first known case of a rabid bat within Montezuma County this year. |
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