Richmond Doctor Confirms Bat Tested Negative for Rabies After 48-Hour Scare

Q: Why do experts warn that sleeping near a bat is a medical emergency even if you never felt a single bite?

Experts treat waking up near a bat as a medical emergency because you may have been exposed to rabies without knowing it. Bat bites and scratches can be so small that they leave little or no visible mark, and a sleeping person may not feel the contact at all. Public health guidance therefore assumes possible exposure when someone wakes up with a bat in the room, especially if it was near the face, mouth or head. That caution is driven by how dangerous rabies is. Once symptoms begin, rabies is almost always fatal. But it is also highly preventable if post-exposure treatment is started before symptoms appear. That is why doctors urge people not to “wait and see” after a bat encounter during sleep. Close contact with the face raises the stakes further because saliva from an infected bat can reach the mouth, eyes, nose or a tiny wound, and exposures nearer the head can allow the virus a shorter path to the nervous system. Health officials apply the same warning to young children, intoxicated people, or anyone unable to reliably say whether contact occurred. The recommended response is to safely capture the bat if possible, without bare-handed contact, and call local health officials or animal control so the bat can be tested. Testing is often completed within about 48 hours. If the bat tests negative, rabies shots are usually unnecessary. If there is any chance of exposure, immediate medical evaluation is advised, along with washing any possible wound with soap and water.

2 articles · Updated · CBS 6 News Richmond WTVR · Aug 24

Dr. Krista Edelman said the bat that flew into her bedroom and tried to get into her mouth tested negative for rabies, ending a scare she later described in a widely shared Instagram video.
48-hour local testing can determine whether post-exposure vaccination is needed, Virginia public health veterinarian Julia Murphy said, and Edelman was advised to catch the bat rather than kill it so it could be tested.
St. Mary's ER doctor Adam Landsee said anyone who wakes up with a bat in the room should assume possible exposure because bat teeth are tiny and bites can go unnoticed, while rabies is essentially fatal once symptoms begin.
Virginia health officials said bat submissions for rabies testing are up this year even though positive results are not, and they urge residents to contact local health departments or animal control promptly for guidance.