Robert Green wrote:
"Pete C." wrote in message
.com...
Robert Green wrote:
"Pete C." wrote in message
.com...
Robert Green wrote:
"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:
The issue referenced is histoplasmosis, not rabies. Histoplasmisis is
caused by a bacteria that is sometimes found in bat droppings.
Never said otherwise. Just pointing out that in addition to
histoplasmOsis,
bats transmit more rabies than any other animal in America and that
finding
them in your house can indicate that they're rabid. Probably not in
this
case, but indoor bats are not to be taken lightly. They usually stay
away
from humans and those that do approach humans are usually injured or
sick
and can have rabies.
As for "Caver's Lung" - it's not something to dismiss lightly:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002073/
histoplasmosis may become widespread (disseminated), and involve the
blood, meninges (outer covering of the brain), adrenal glands, and other
organs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hi...6840_lores.jpg
Bob Dylan was hospitalized due to histoplasmosis in 1997, causing the
cancellation of concerts in the United Kingdom and Switzerland
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histoplasmosis
--
Bobby G.
Both histoplasmosis and rabid bats are far more rare than the hype
around them. I never said histoplasmosis was anything to sneeze at,
That's kind of funny when you think about it. (-:
just quite rare. And yes, cavers do pay attention for any signs of
histoplasmosis, but they don't take any special precautions (masks,
hazmat suits, etc.) since the risk is low and as long as you are alert
and catch any case of it promptly it generally isn't a big deal.
I distinctly recall a nature video where they were filming one of the
largest bat caves in the world. The guano was so deep that it sucked one of
the videographer's boots off. He was in full, although not quite
well-secured, hazmat gear. And he was very unhappy to get unbooted. Might
even have been Mike Rowe's "Dirty Jobs" program.
I'm pretty sure it was a Dirty Jobs episode, and I'm pretty sure they
used the gear because histoplasmosis bacteria were known to be present
at that site.
Not as much fun watching
Marty Stouffer screaming "THE SUIT IS NOT WORKING!" after he donned an
allegedly skunk-proof suit to film a skunk's anal scent glands firing from
close up. But memorable, none-the-less. I'll agree wholeheartedly that the
actual threat from bats is miniscule compared to the 1,000s of other ways
there are to die, but I still would handle one that got into the house with
the utmost care.
--
Bobby G.
PS: I might have to take issue with spelunkers correctly assessing the risks
involved with bat-borne diseases. They do, after all, go crawling into tiny
cracks deep under the earth. That could easily make the bat risk *seem* low
simply compared to the risk of being down there in the first place. (-:
Spelunkers are not cavers... Cavers are the trained and prepared folks
who typically rescue the lost, untrained and unprepared spelunkers.
Cavers have maps of the caves (they surveyed and produced them), have
appropriate gear for caves with vertical drops, etc.