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Working
with BATS
General
Characteristics
There
are many health risks associated with working
with bats, including infection from bites
or scratches, and contraction of zoonoses.
These risks can be avoided or minimized through
awareness and adherence to proper precautions
and Standard Operating Procedures. It is very
important to realize that many organisms that
cause disease in humans may not cause visible
disease in bats.
GENERAL
PREVENTATIVE MEASURES
- Personnel
working with bats should be current on their
rabies vaccination and should have their rabies
titers checked every 2 years.
- Adhere
to guidelines in the general S.O.P.
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IMPORTANT
HEALTH RISKS
Bite-wounds
and Scratches
Know
that it is possible to be bitten by a bat
and not realize it due to the sharp, small
teeth of certain species. If you think you
may have been bitten by a bat, wash the affected
area thoroughly and consult a physician. |
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INFECTIOUS
DISEASES
Rabies
Disease-causing
organism: Rabies virus, a rhabdovirus, can
infect almost any mammal. It is rare in the
research environment but because these bats
are wild-caught, it remains an inherent risk.
- Source: The infected animal. The
virus can be shed in the animal’s saliva
and feces with no clinical signs of disease.
Any random-source or wild-caught mammal exhibiting
central nervous system signs should be considered
suspect for rabies.
- Transmission: Contact with saliva,
mucus membranes, or blood. Commonly transmitted
through bites, or through contamination of
a person’s open wound with saliva, blood,
or tissue contact.
- Disease in humans: Rabies in unvaccinated
people is almost always fatal. Vaccinated
individuals must still undergo prophylactic
treatment if bitten by a rabies-positive animal.
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Histoplasmosis
Disease-causing organism: a fungus called Histoplasma
capsulatum.
- Source:
moderate temperature and moist environments;
large accumulations of guano (feces) in caves
and other roosting areas with large populations
of bats. Infected bats are asymptomatic.
- Transmission:
inhalation of conidia (small spores) into the
lungs. Infection occurs 5 to 18 days post-exposure.
- Disease
in humans: Histoplasmosis infection can last
for years either asymptomatically or as a mild
infection. Infection can also be severe and
produce an illness similar to tuberculosis.
Signs include fever, cough, exhaustion, liver
and spleen enlargement, weakness, chest pains,
or cough. The severity of symptoms can vary
with the magnitude of the exposure and are particularly
severe in immunocompromised individuals.
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Enteric
Disease
Several
bacterial pathogens, including Salmonella
spp., and Campylobacter spp., are frequently
associated with diarrhea in all mammalian
species and may also cause disease in people.
Protozoa, such as Giardia spp., must also
be considered as risks.
- Source:
Symptomatic or asymptomatic animals
- Transmission:
Oral/fecal
- Disease
in humans: Diarrhea, dysentery. Most bacterial
enteric diseases respond to symptomatic and
/or antimicrobial therapy. Protozoal enteric
diseases are often self-limiting or respond
to antimicrobial therapy, but this varies
between species.
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