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Don’t Take It For Granted If Bat Enters The Children’s Room
Next time you sight or suspect that a bat has entered the childers’s room, do not take it for granted. For a start, a bat is largely an ominous creature in many traditional settings, but there is more to that traditional belief in contemporary times.
Bats are also vectors for certain diseases, and a report in Newsweek just indicated that a child in Canada has died after contracting rabies from a bat.
The bat has found its way into the child’s room that found its way into the youngster’s bedroom.
The child, who lived with family in the Brantford region of Ontario, died after being infected with the virus in the Timiskaming region.
The case marks the first domestically acquired instance of human rabies in Ontario since 1967. The child, whose name, age and other information have not been released, was in a hospital last month, according to Canada’s CBC news outlet.
“They woke up with a bat in their room,” Malcolm Lock, a doctor at the Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit, said Wednesday at a health board meeting, the CBC reported. “The parents looked, didn’t see any signs of a bite or scratches or saliva and didn’t seek getting a rabies vaccine.”
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The Eagle checked up for additional information on bats, especially in terms of potential risks and dangers.
One of the most well-known dangers of bats is their ability to spread disease to other animals, including humans, says Covenant Wildlife.
“The illnesses are often severe, even though the bat may appear perfectly healthy. When humans are infected with one of the various diseases from bats or their droppings, they are often hospitalised. And unfortunately, some cases may even be fatal.
Illnesses Transmitted By Bats
According to the platform, illnesses transmitted by bats quite a number, and include:
- Rabies- Fatal infection spread through bites, mucus, and scratches from a bat carrying the virus. Infected bats will become ill and die but can still transmit the virus to humans and other animals, like pets, before death.
- Histoplasmosis- This rare lung infection can infect pets, cattle, and humans who have been exposed to droppings of bats. Those working with bats or in caves where bats are present should wear protective gear to avoid contracting this awful infection.
- Salmonellosis– Salmonella is just one bacteria found in bat droppings and urine that cause gastroenteritis. Symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach cramps. Beyond these, it also lists precautions to take with bats/
Precautions You Must Take To Avoid Contracting
If you live near bats or care for them, there are precautions you must take to avoid contracting one of the several diseases they potentially carry.
- First, be sure not to come in contact with bat feces and urine, where many of these illnesses are found.
- Wash your hands immediately after working in a cave inhabited by bats or directly working with the animal.
- Furthermore, avoid the dangers of bats by wearing protective gear like gloves and masks.