Virginia Doctor's Bat Warning Spreads 33,000 Times as Rabies Test Returns Negative
Updated
Updated · WRAL News · Aug 26
Virginia Doctor's Bat Warning Spreads 33,000 Times as Rabies Test Returns Negative
3 articles · Updated · WRAL News · Aug 26
Summary
More than 33,000 Instagram shares amplified Dr. Krista Edelman's account of waking up in her Richmond home with a bat at her mouth, a story she posted to warn others about rabies exposure.
An infectious-disease physician urged her to seek immediate care because exposure near the head can speed rabies transmission, and she went to St. Mary's emergency department for treatment guidance.
ER doctor Adam Landsee said anyone who wakes up with a bat in a room should assume possible exposure because bat bites can be hard to detect and rabies is essentially fatal once symptoms begin.
Virginia public health veterinarian Julia Murphy said bat submissions for rabies testing are up this year, and advised trapping the animal and calling the local health department; test results usually take about 48 hours.
Edelman's bat later tested negative for rabies, meaning vaccine would not be needed if a captured bat tests clear.