"Oren" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:52:33 -0500, "Justin Time"
Bats are our friends. : )
Yes they are. I watched a former co-worker go through a series of
shots. Exposed to bat droppings. This home will surely have them
under the tile. In the video no one had a respirator... or spoke
British.
A lot of people go through the shots simply because the offending bat could
not be captured and dissected:
http://www.cdc.gov/rabies/bats/education/
"Rabies is a fatal disease. Each year, tens of thousands of people are
successfully protected from developing rabies through vaccination after
being bitten by an animal like a bat that may have rabies."
The actual number of fatalities is quite low, and usually means a bite
victim did not seek medical treatment, but bats are still the number one
vector of the disease. Bats found inside the home, acting erratically
should be captured - children are often bitten in their sleep without waking
up. It may save them from the once *very* nasty "rabies series" of shots.
http://health.mo.gov/living/healthco...icable/rabies/ says:
The current series of shots is very effective if given soon after the
exposure, and is fewer in number with far less side effects than the
anti-rabies regimen given prior to 1980. However, the current series is not
without some discomfort and risk, and averages several thousand dollars per
series per patient. The shots are not effective once symptoms develop.
Persons who have never been vaccinated against rabies receive two different
products: human rabies immunoglobulin (HRIG) and human rabies vaccine. The
dose of HRIG depends upon the weight of the person, and is generally
infiltrated by needle and syringe at the site of the bite. These persons
also receive four intramuscular doses of vaccine over the next 14 days5.
Persons with altered immunocompetence (and not previously vaccinated) should
receive a five-dose vaccination regimen with one dose of RIG. Persons who
are exposed to a rabid animal but have been previously vaccinated require
only two booster doses of vaccine three days apart.
All in all, I take the position: "I don't live in your trees or burrows -
don't move into my house and we'll be (mostly) fine." My dog enforces that
position with great determination. She's too proud to roll over for me, but
she'll squirm upside all night in the juice of a cricket she just killed.
Then she'll patrol the spot where she found him with extra vigilence for a
week or so afterward.
Bats *are* our friends, especially if they do their "bat thing" away from
human habitation. I'd even support artifically "bat caves" mounted on
telephone pole or some other bat-attractive structure.
It's pigeons that are our TRUE enemy! I recently learned that in many
cities, pigeon-netting is being applied to bridge ironwork because bridge
engineers have realized that pigeon poop turns into a pretty potent
corrosive agent over time. I also learned that the Tappan Zee bridge was
built on the cheap with wood pilings that are in danger of being infested
with shipworms.
http://www.livedash.com/transcript/t...8_2011/596365/
--
Bobby G.